Joan Mbabazi<\/b><\/p>\n
Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The zeal to see children healthy, and put a smile on their parents\u2019 faces after successful surgeries is what enthuses Axelle Aimee Nduwimana to wake up every single day to execute her duty as a paediatric surgeon.<\/p>\n Nduwimana was the first person in her family to pursue a medical course. She was intrigued to opt for this career at the age of eight through a French Tv series \u2018Sous le soleil\u2019 where one of the characters who was a doctor, Laure, was diligent in her work.<\/p>\n \u201cThough the TV series wasn\u2019t medical, Laure\u2019s character of performing her role in the best manner inspired me to be just like her,\u201d Nduwimana says. It is at this point that she yearned to be a doctor, to save lives, and to incite joy in her patients.<\/p>\n Nduwimana who hails from Burundi went to the University of Rwanda- the School of Medicine- where she graduated in 2016. She later worked as a general practitioner at King Faisal Hospital for two years and a half, before joining a surgical residency in May, 2019.<\/p>\n She is now working at The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) since 2022, where she is eligible to perform surgeries.<\/p>\n Axelle Aimee Nduwimana in a Kid’s operation room at CHUK.<\/p>\n Her aspiration was to study neurology (a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the nervous system, which include the brain, blood vessels, muscles and nerves) but in her second year of study, rotated in pediatric surgery, she never looked back.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter high school, my mother was very supportive when I told her I wanted to do medicine. I had secured a scholarship to go to Morocco to study another course. Having told my mother about the change of plan to instead enrol for a medical course at the University of Rwanda, she was very understanding,\u201d Nduwimana said.<\/p>\n Nduwimana recalls her first time in the operation room in a single case when reality kicked in. Although she didn\u2019t panic physically, her heart was racing.<\/p>\n Given the fact that there is a supervisor to help out, it offered her confidence. Her first solo surgery was a success. She operated on a six-week-old child with a Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis defect.<\/p>\n This is a blockage of the passage out of the stomach due to thickening (hypertrophy) of the muscle at the junction between the stomach and the intestines.<\/p>\n The condition occurs most often in babies under six months old. In this ailment, the muscles block food from entering the small intestine. It occurs more often in males.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the help of my supervisor, we performed a pyloromyotomy procedure, where we opened the muscle that is between the stomach and the small intestines which allowed whatever the baby ate, to pass to the bowels.<\/p>\n The procedure that is normally completed in about fifteen to twenty minutes was done in thirty minutes. Since she had observed her supervisors do it before, Nduwimana was certain of what to do.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very excited after successfully completing my first surgery, and with all the practice I have acquired, I must say that I can perform this surgery very well with my eyes closed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Nduwimana finds specializing in kids\u2019 conditions an amazing experience because they are \u201cexhilarating\u201d, for instance, one morning she is operating them, and the next day they are up on their feet, strong and playing.<\/p>\n Witnessing the joy of a child or a parent after a successful operation leaves her satisfied. For example, Nduwimana recalls operating a rare condition of two-day-old conjoined girl twins on August 13, 2022 with a team of two supervisors. The disorder is known as Omphalopagus, where twins are conjoined, sharing parts of the gastrointestinal system and abdominal wall.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the babies was critically ill and because they were sharing the same blood supply. We sought fast measures to save at least one of them, so we rushed them to the theatre for the separation. Unfortunately, one baby died immediately after the surgery due to congenital anomalies but the other survived. This filled the mother with joy as she didn\u2019t know that such a surgery could be done in Rwanda. A year later, the baby is healthy, and the mother is happy,\u201d Nduwimana stresses.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the only complicated surgery that Nduwimana has performed. Though she has lost count of the operations done individually, she is certain that over fifty of them have been successful.<\/p>\n What are the challenges in the field?<\/p>\n Nduwimana stresses that pediatric surgery in Rwanda is still new, highlighting that there are still few intensive care units for older kids.<\/p>\n \u201cAt CHUK, we only have a few beds in the pediatric ICU and two Mechanical ventilators in ICU. It\u2019s a big challenge because most children are transferred here when they are critically ill and require mechanical ventilation postoperatively,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n Axelle Aimee Nduwimana during an interview. She is working at The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) since 2022, where she is eligible to perform surgeries.<\/p>\n This, she notes, delays surgery but can be curbed if the hospital acquires an open intensive care unit for post-operation recovery.<\/p>\n The surgeon carries on that although CHUK has a children\u2019s operating room, most of the emergency surgeries are shared in operations rooms with other departments thus delaying the operation process, a thing that is tricky.<\/p>\n Nduwimana further notes that pediatric surgeons are overworked since they\u2019re few, an issue she believes should be solved from the roots.<\/p>\n It is for this reason that she urges the Ministry of Health to get involved in availing more training facilities and offer sponsorship opportunities to encourage students to take on courses in this career.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also need to advocate medical students and general practitioners in hospitals to join this field because they\u2019re mostly not interested in surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n What keeps her going?<\/p>\n For her, medicine is a long course but very satisfactory. It is not routine as it exposes doctors to different cases with unique reactions.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, Nduwimana goes home smiling because she has saved a life, and made a mother smile and regain hope.<\/p>\n What excites me more than seeing a child cured and go back to school and live normal lives? This is a fulfilling career, she notes.<\/p>\n \u201cEven with the cases that don\u2019t go well, I know I did my best.\u201d<\/p>\n Way forward<\/p>\n After completion of her course in pediatric surgery in December, Nduwimana anticipates training in cleft lip and palate surgery, and also partake in a fellowship in Neonatal surgery.<\/p>\n This is performed on babies shortly after they are born. It is meant to treat conditions that cannot be diagnosed and addressed while still in the womb.<\/p>\n She also encourages medical students, especially women, to join surgery because \u201cit\u2019s a very rewarding specialty\u201d as the outcomes are immediate and the country still needs many more surgeons.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people think women can\u2019t do surgery because of social constraints like motherhood and family. In the past, these were not thought compatible with medicine, but with many of our elders getting engaged and being very successful in surgery, it should be a call to the younger women that we too can do it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\r\n