Nollywood actress, Stephanie Okereke-Linus has taken her Vesico Vaginal Fistula awareness campaign to a commendable height. In an effort to spread the word on the dangers of the medical condition and to repair as many women as possible who have it, the Extended Hands Foundation with support from SNEPCo/NNPC recently carried out repair surgeries on 20 women at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
The pool effort was done to bring hope and restoration to the women who had been living with this condition for varying period of time. The women had the repair surgeries done at no cost to them and their families.
Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) is a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth. They are holes resulting from the breakdown in the tissue between the vaginal wall and the bladder or rectum caused by unrelieved obstructed labour. The consequence of such damage is a woman’s inability to control the flow of urine or faeces. It occurs more often in young women during childbirth, as their bodies are not yet mature for the process.
The exercise which kicked off in June was a very successful one. The team of doctors carried out repair surgeries on 20 women whose lives had been adversely affected by this condition and it was so heart warming to restore hope and a chance at living normal lives to these women.
Aside from the surgeries, the foundation also donated surgical equipment and electrical supplies which was presented to the hospital at an event which took place at the hospital. In attendance was the Chief Medical Director of UCH Ibadan, Professor Temitope Alonge; Head of Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Professor Ayo Arowojodu and the Chief Medical Consultant, Department of Genitourinary & Urogynaecology Professor O. A. Ojengbede.
The Extended Hands Foundation was founded by star actress Stephanie Linus who has been passionate about touching the lives of women with this condition for many years.
