As part of efforts to boost the efficacy and safety of fibroid treatment in Nigeria, Nordica Fertility Centre, a premier In-Vitro Fertilizer (IVF) clinic has disposed that it is set to introduce the High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU).
Lafiya360 reports that the Centre stressed that HIFU, which is a minimally invasive medical procedure, uses ultrasound waves to treat uterine fibroids without surgery, remains the safest treatment option.
While speaking with journalists during a briefing in Abuja, the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, revealed that the HIFU technology has already been deployed in Nordica’s Lagos clinic where 385 patients have been successfully treated.
He added that the Centre is the only IVF clinic that is currently employing the HIFU technology in Nigeria to treat uterine fibroid without surgery, which also comes very helpful for IVF patients with such conditions.
The introduction of HIFU to Abuja, according to him, is in furtherance of the Centre’s commitment to provide alternative solutions to Nigerians undergoing complicated and complex medical procedures.
Ajayi added that while the HIFU technology would be launched in Abuja in the first quarter of 2024, it would mark its 11th anniversary.
He said, “We know that infertility is one of the toughest challenges couples can face. No matter how strong anyone is, it tests your relationships, it tests who you are, it tests your faith in God. And when you do the IVF treatment again it fails, it tests everything again. So it’s important to understand that patients are also prepared for this.
“We have gone beyond the days of whether IVF is possible in Nigeria, we know it is possible, we know we have thousands of babies through the process but the next step will now be how to make people understand that there’s a failure rate.
“This is because we have people we have seen couples whose marriages break down even after a successful process, which shows that not only practitioners but also the consumers that we are not paying enough attention to mental health to the effects on relationships.”
Dr. Ajayi harped on the need to regulate human organ donation and IVF practice in the country. He also condemned the misconceptions and rumors being peddled against the IVF practice in the country.
He called for effective legislation, particularly by the National Assembly, to regulate the practice of IVF, ensuring that unethical and unscrupulous individuals involved in the process are found out and punished appropriately.