Pathologist Decries Challenges Posed By Kidney Diseases, Cancer

Professor Mikhail Buhari, A Pathologist with the Department of Pathology in the University of Ilorin has lamented the magnitude of the challenges posed by kidney diseases and the increasing sophistication in the services offered by Clinical Medicine.

Professor Buhari expressed this view while presenting the 218th Inaugural Lecture of the University entitled:“ The Doctors’ Doctor: Doctor Weighing Clinical and Morphological Evidence to make life-changing decisions”.

He stressed the need for the government to create special centres for the management of cancers and kidney disorders, as he said these centres could be established on geopolitical regional basis.

The Inaugural Lecturer also stressed the need for institutions to generate their own Autopsy policies and for the various state governments to review the old Coroner law, saying it’s overdue since the old Coroner law that was enacted in 1944 was amended in 1958.

“Since then, only few States have proposed and passed amendments to these laws, principally Lagos state in 2007. It is desirable for other States to amend this law to reflect modern realities and scenarios,” he declared.

According to him, hospitals should also  have well spelt out autopsy policies in order to derive the maximum benefits from the procedure.

The Pathologist harped on large scale investment in the creation of awareness on the various cancer screening programmes, considering the cancer burden and its attendant effects on the individual, families and the nation at large.

The Don therefore, urged the government to make available the right tools for General Pathological services.

He also called on the government to devise a means of retaining the best hands in the country beyond retirement age without necessarily putting the heavy burden on the institution.

Professor Buhari submitted that the autopsy rate was very low in Nigeria, due to the religious inclination of people. He described Autopsy pathology as the study of the cause and manner of death.

The expert who teaches in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, of the University, asserts that Autopsy pathology was beneficial to physicians in establishing the diagnosis and determining the cause of death, and also in providing data needed to ensure quality assurance in medical practice.

Similarly, Buhari called on the government at all levels to create special centres for the management of cancers and kidney disorders across the country.

He suggested that such special management centres if required may be established on a geographical regional basis to treat cancers and kidney disorders.

According to him, there is a need for institutions to generate their own autopsy policies and for various state governments to review the old Coronal law.

The Don noted that large-scale investment in creating awareness on the various cancer screening programmes cannot be over-emphasised considering the cancer burden and its attendant effects on the individual, families, and nation.