Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
A Bindura family is celebrating the removal of a 6-kilogramme tumour on their relative in a complex surgical operation at Bindura Provincial Hospital last month.
The procedure has become a testament to decentralisation of specialised healthcare services to smaller towns by the Second Republic.
For years, 54-year-old Batsirai Muzeziwa was unable to live a normal life because of a huge tumour that started developing as a blister on her back, until it grew to over six kilogrammes.
She said, “It started as blister and shed didn’t think much of it. It continued growing and growing and it was painless. When it became large it became painful. I couldn’t do house chores, dig in the field, or fetch water anymore and I ended up just sitting.”
Her health-seeking journey led her from Mberengwa to her sister’s place in Bindura, where she was taken to the provincial hospital on 15 January.
Two days later, she underwent a life-changing surgical procedure.
“I went to some Jewish doctors who come from Mberengwa and they referred me to Munene, they said my problem was too big. There they injected me and referred me to Bulawayo. The major challenge was cash, that’s when I came here. Now my life is transformed.”
Her younger sister Nyembesi Muzeziwa recalls the anxiety of waiting for nearly five hours on the day of surgery but it was all worthwhile.
She said, “We never thought this challenge would go away. It was so big even people at home couldn’t accept that it was gone. Those who are out there should seek treatment early and they shouldn’t keep problems.”
Health practitioners at Bindura Provincial Hospital attributed the successful operation to teamwork and improved staffing of specialists at the facility.
The hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr. Budirai Gwagwa said, “Lipoma is a common soft tissue tumour that we encounter day to day, but what makes this one a bit different from others was the size. In terms of impact itself, it’s a testament of improved staffing of specialists at Bindura Provincial Hospital, which currently has 10 specialists covering eight specialists.”
“This proves to the community that if they have such cases, they can be treated within our hospitals and we can attend. She had a huge mass that was starting to cause breathing problems and caused significant disfiguring of her body structure. Given its size, it was now a complex operation,” Specialist Neuro Surgeon Dr. Lawrence Hlatywayo said.
The removal of a six-kilogramme tumour from Batsirai Muzeziwa in the small mining town of Bindura is testimony that the government is leaving no one and no place behind in its quest to achieve universal access to affordable health care.
