Fabian Udekwu

Fabian Anene Ositadimma Udekwu (1928 – 17 November 2006) born in Enugu Agidi, Anambra State was a Medical Doctor, Cardiac surgeon. He was a distinguished Professor of Surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, and a pioneer of open heart surgery in Africa.[1]

Professor

Fabian Anene Ositadimma Udekwu

M.D, FICS, FACS, FAATC, FNAS, FWACS
Born1928
Enugwu Agidi, Anambra State, Nigeria
Died(2006-11-17)17 November 2006
Uppsala, Sweden
NationalityNigerian
OccupationCardiothoracic surgeon
Known forFirst open heart surgery in West Africa
Spouse(s)Anna Brita Bystrom
Academic background
Alma materLoyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Ibadan, University of Nigeria Nsukka

Education

Prof. Udekwu attended St. Charles Teachers Training College Onitsha where he was retained as a faculty member after graduation in 1947, teaching mathematics and geography.[2] He did his London Matriculation Exams by correspondence and after having been able to save enough money he proceeded in 1950 to the United States for further studies. He did his pre medical studies in biology, chemistry and physics in Los Angeles.[3] Subsequently, he attended the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, graduating as a medical doctor in 1957 and specialising in general cardiac and thoracic surgery in 1964.[4][5] He did his surgical training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.[3] Fabian Udekwu was the first fully certified cardiothoracic surgeon in Nigeria.[6] He was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the International College of Surgeons and the West African College of Surgeons.[7] Udekwu was a founding member and fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science.[8]

Career

Udekwu returned to Nigeria in 1965 as paediatric thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at the University College Hospital of the University of Ibadan.[6] He left Ibadan to Enugu at the outbreak of hostilities that marked the beginning of the Nigeria civil war.[9] He served as a Military Surgeon and Head of the Biafran teaching hospital in various locations including Enugu and Emekukwu during the war.[10] He was also the secretary to the Biafra Relief and Rehabilitation Association during the war.[11] Udekwu was later rated Distinguished Professor and Head of Department of Surgery of the University of Nigeria, Teaching Hospital (UNTH) and was the administrative head of the Enugu Campus of the University.[3] Professor Udekwu is credited with building up the Department of Surgery of the University of Nigeria.[3] Despite several unsuccessful attempts at sourcing funds to establish a modern surgical department from many organisations in the United States, United Kingdom, Scandinavia and through church aid, he was able to source funds from the Enugu campus by the contributions of individual Nigerians to build the operating theater and buy the equipment needed to establish facilities for open heart surgery in Nigeria.[3] He was one of the pioneers that established cardiac surgery in Nigeria.[12] Professor Udekwu led the team of surgeons that performed the first successful open heart surgery in Nigeria in 1974[13] which was the first of its kind in black Africa.[3] Also in the team of surgeons that performed this landmark operation were Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, Professors Anyanwu C.H., Nwafor D.C., the anaesthetist Dr. Shreeniwas Jawalekar and others.[14][15][16] This was followed by a series of six further open heart surgeries under Udekwu at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu (UNTH) between 1974 and 1980.[17]

Private life

Udekwu was an avid sportsman, playing football and tennis throughout his life. He was a member of the Enugu Sports Club. He also played music as a hobby attaining notability as the organist and choirmaster at the Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu. On 28 April 1956 Udekwu was married to Miss Anna Brita Bystrom. The marriage was blessed with ten children.[18]

Publications
  • A Medical Holiday in Nigeria.[19]
  • Pancreatic Pseudocyst in Children[20]
  • Pulmonary aspergilloma: report of two cases from Nigeria.[21]
  • Determination of total body water with tritium oxide, FAO Udekwu, PD Kozoll, KA Meyer – Journal of nuclear Medicine, 1963
  • Aneurysm of the left pulmonary artery with hemoptysis and bronchial obstruction.[22]
  • Initial experience with open-heart surgery in Nigeria, Anyanwu CH, Ihenacho HNC, Okoroma EO, Nwafo DC, Umeh BU, Okechukwu CC, Udekwu FA. Cardiologie Tropicale, Tropical Cardiology 1982;8:123–7.
  • Studies of an alveolar soft tissue sarcoma.[23]
  • Renal angiomyolipoma. Clinical and pathological study.[24]
  • Traumatic aneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas in Nigeria.[25]
  • Clinical aspects of pulmonary and pleural carcinoma in Nigeria.[26]
  • Teratoma of the thyroid gland.[27]
  • Black grain mycetoma due to Madurella mycetomi: a case report from the East Central State of Nigeria.[28]
  • Ascending aortic aneurysm causing pulmonary stenosis.[29]
  • Odeku, E. L.; Antia, A. U.; Udekwu, F. A. O. (1970). "Persistent ascites following infected ventriculoperitoneal shunt". West African Medical Journal. 19: 72–73. [30]

Notes
  1. Ojigbo, Solomon (8 October 2019). "Fabian Udekwu :- Pioneer of open heart surgery in sub-Saharan Africa". Pharmanewsonline. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. Jacob Ukeje Agwu ( 1925–2008 ) A Brief History of His Life, biographical article, Nigeriamasterweb, retrieved 27 June 2013
  3. White, Sarah (25 July 1974). A professor's dilema (63 number 907 ed.). New Scientist. p. 196. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  4. Udekwu, Fabian MD, Thoracic Surgery Maywood , IL, Doximity website, retrieved 27 June 2013
  5. Udekwu, Fabian A.O. ,medicineonline retrieved 27 June 2013
  6. Adebonojo, Samuel. "DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN HEART SURGERY IN WEST AFRICA: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE" (PDF). Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  7. List of Fellows, West African College of Surgeons, Number 122, retrieved 27 June 2013
  8. "List of fellows". Nigerian Academy of Science. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  9. Adler, Renata (2015). After the Tall Timber: Collected Nonfiction. New York Review of Books. pp. 230–233. ISBN 978-1590178805.
  10. BIAFRA / KRIEGSOPFER; Verlorene Unschuld, Der Spiegel (German), published 8 December 1969, retrieved 27 June 2013
  11. News article on Biafra, The Saturday Review, 3 May 1969, p. 21, retrieved 28 June 2013
  12. SURGERY IN NIGERIA: The Will and The Way, FACULTY LECTURE DELIVERED TO FACULTY OF SURGERY NATIONAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL COLLEGE ON 16 September 1988 By Professor E. A. Elebute
  13. Eze, John C.; Ezemba, Ndubueze (2007). "Open-Heart Surgery in Nigeria Indications and Challenges". Tex. Heart Inst. J. 34 (1): 8–10. PMC 1847931. PMID 17420786.
  14. Arthur Brooks, Africa Arrival Nigerian Days..Daze!!! Archived 28 June 2013 at Archive.today, (memoir), published 5 May 2012, retrieved 27 June 2013
  15. Shreeniwas Jawalekar, Open Drops To Open Hearts!: Journey of an Anesthesiologist from India to America (memoir), Published 8 April 2010 by Outskirts Press, pp.61–64
  16. J Nwiloh, S Edaigbini, S Danbauchi, I Babaniyi, M Aminu, Y Adamu, A Oyati, Cardiac surgical experience in northern Nigeria Cardiovascular Journal of Africa • Vol 23, No 8, September 2012
  17. S.O. Michael, Chronicles of Medical History in Africa; Pioneers of Heart Surgery from Aristotle to Grillo, Annals of Ibadan Postgraduate Medicine Vol. 7 No.2 December 2009
  18. "Science & Medicine; Nigerian Achievers in Medicine" (PDF). The Achebe Colloquium. 17 July 2006.
  19. Udekwu, FA; Lambie, RS (14 August 1965). "A Medical Holiday in Nigeria". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 93 (7): 328. PMC 1928724. PMID 20328321.
  20. UDEKWU, FA; NWANKONOBI, F; FRANCIS, TI (August 1965). "Pancreatic Pseudocyst in Children". The Journal of the International College of Surgeons. 44: 123–7. PMID 14310292.
  21. Anyanwu, CH; Suseelan, AV; Gugnani, HC; Udekwu, FA (August 1982). "Pulmonary aspergilloma: report of two cases from Nigeria". The Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 85 (4): 143–7. PMID 7143529.
  22. Udekwu, FA; Cabre, CA; Sen, SK (November 1965). "Aneurysm of the left pulmonary artery with hemoptysis and bronchial obstruction". The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 50 (5): 753–6. doi:10.1016/s0022-5223(19)33164-2. PMID 5845460.
  23. Udekwu, FA; Pulvertaft, RJ (December 1965). "Studies of an alveolar soft tissue sarcoma". British Journal of Cancer. 19 (4): 744–8. doi:10.1038/bjc.1965.86. PMC 2071408. PMID 4285917.
  24. Udekwu, FA (September 1966). "Renal angiomyolipoma. Clinical and pathological study". International Surgery. 46 (3): 205–14. PMID 5916848.
  25. Anyanwu, CH; Ude, AC; Swarup, AS; Umerah, BC; Udekwu, FA (August 1980). "Traumatic aneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas in Nigeria". The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon. 28 (4): 265–8. doi:10.1055/s-2007-1022092. PMID 6158130.
  26. Anyanwu, CH; Udekwu, FA (1979). "Clinical aspects of pulmonary and pleural carcinoma in Nigeria". Medical Journal of Zambia. 14 (5): 83–9. PMID 7053009.
  27. Suseelan, AV; Gupta, IM; Viswanathan, V; Udekwu, FA (1976). "Teratoma of the thyroid gland". International Surgery. 62 (11–12): 586–7. PMID 591232.
  28. Gugnanni; Suseelan; Udekwu, F.A. (1976). "Black grain mycetoma due to Madurella mycetomi: a case report from the East Central State of Nigeria". Nigerian Medical Journal. 6 (4): 491.
  29. Anyanwu, CH; Ihenacho, HN; Okoroma, EO; Nwafo, DC; Udekwu, FA (September 1979). "Ascending aortic aneurysm causing pulmonary stenosis". East African Medical Journal. 56 (9): 457–60. PMID 520267.
  30. Shehu, BB; Ismail, NJ; Ameh, EA (12 April 2006). "Acute ileus following ventriculoperitoneal shunt: case report". East African Medical Journal. 82 (9): 486–7. doi:10.4314/eamj.v82i9.9342. ISSN 0012-835X. PMID 16619725.
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