One of the survivors of the shooting that marred the #ENDSARS protest at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Meshack Esanibi, says the bullets he took into his left leg are yet to be extracted over three weeks after the incident that nearly claimed his life.
On October 27, according to PUNCH HealthWise reporter, Esanibi was rushed to the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, after he was allegedly shot on the left leg by soldiers drafted to disperse the #ENDSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate.
Security agents had shot at the protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Tuesday, October 20, leading to a yet-to-be ascertained a number of casualties.
The shooting incident had also attracted national and international outcry, with the Lagos State and Federal governments being urged to unravel the identity of the shooters and who deployed them.
Bullet still stuck in limb
When PUNCH HealthWise reporter checked upon him again in Ward B of the General Hospital, Esanibi sat on his sickbed.
Looking better than he was two weeks ago, Esanibi said he had been able to establish contact with a relative after his story was published.
The Delta State indigene, however, told our correspondent that he had been experiencing excruciating pain all over his body, especially on the affected limb, noting that the discomfort he felt might be because the bullet had not been extracted from his leg.
“Since I was admitted after the Lekki toll gate shooting incident, the bullet has not been removed. It is still in my leg.
“I don’t even know whether the bullet was the cause of the intense pain I am feeling. But I was told by a doctor that I will soon be taken into the theatre again.
“Even the result of the X-ray done on my leg was not given to me. But I observe that the doctors have it on their phone from where they assess it from time to time,” he said.
Continuing, Esanibi said he had not started using his leg. He, however, said that his gunshot wounds are being attended to regularly.
No blood, no surgery
In a text message to our correspondent, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ismail Ganikale, said Esanibi desperately needs blood for surgery.
“He needs family members or friends to donate blood. Blood is not sold; someone has to donate for him.
“Arrangements being made for blood should be fruitful soon,” Ganikale said in the message.
Esanibi told our correspondent that he was in dire of blood donors before his surgery can be carried out.
“I have been told that the only thing delaying my surgery is blood. One of the doctors explained that I lost too much blood as a result of the bullet wound I sustained and would require at least two pints of blood.
“Consequently, I sent for my sister to come for the test, but she was rejected. I was told she did not look fit to donate blood.
“Even the medical director visited two days ago and expressed concerns about my case. He said the hospital had made attempts to procure the blood but didn’t see any,” he lamented.
As he spoke, he kept throbbing the affected limb which was dressed in new bandages.
Esanibi explained that though the wound appeared to have healed, he was told to avoid putting it under pressure.
“I was told the surgery would have been done and the bullets removed two weeks ago if those two pints of blood had been available.
“But the doctors have reassured me that I have nothing to fear about the danger of having a bullet in my body.
“They said there are still some people moving around today with bullets lodged somewhere in their respective system,” he said.
Lamenting his predicament, Esanibi said, “Honestly, I have no one to reach at the moment because all my relatives, including my only surviving brother, Jonathan, are presently in Delta State.
“I cannot even reach a couple of friends I know for help as a result of the wallet and phone I lost during the Lekki toll gate shooting.
“Having spent one month on this sickbed, I am tired and just want to leave.”
Bullet wound healing, fractured bones yet to align
Meanwhile, a nurse on duty who craved anonymity at Ward B where the patient was recuperating described Meshack’s case as “pathetic.”
“It is only two pints of blood delaying him. Even when he gets the donors, they would be made to pay to have their blood screened.
“Once the blood are certified suitable, the surgery won’t be delayed because everything he needs for it is available,” the nurse said.
Continuing, she said, “The bullet wounds appeared to have healed, but the fractured bones are not aligned. The bones are still the same way they were when he was brought in.”
Bullet removed after three days
In Ward C of the same hospital, another gunshot victim of the #ENDSARS protest, Idris Taiwo, laid writhing in pain on his sick bed.
He could barely speak when but his immediate brother, Afolabi Taiwo told our correspondent that the 24-year-old was referred to the General Hospital from an undisclosed hospital in Lagos Mainland.
According to him, the patient was shot in the chest following the #ENDSARS protest that pitched demonstrators against officers from Denton Police Station in Oyingbo on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.
Afolabi said the bullet, lodged in his chest, was not removed until three days later.
“We discovered that there was a mix-up when it was time for the surgeons to operate him.
“The official on duty entered a different name on his file when he was to be placed on admission.
That caused a bit of confusion and compelled the hospital to reschedule his surgery till the third day before the bullet was extracted from his chest,” he said.
Afolabi said only the surgery was free, and that his family had continued to pay for Idris’ medications.
“Aside from other medications, there is a particular drug we buy at the pharmacy every day.
“It costs N3,000 per unit and Idris needs to use three of it on a daily basis. He has spent two weeks here already and we cannot really say how long more he will stay before his discharge,” he said.
Patients should focus on healing, not bullet removal
Meanwhile, a consultant surgeon, Prof. Andrew Ugburo, has explained why the extraction of bullets from patients with gunshot wounds is delayed.
He described a bullet as a projectile, just like an object thrown at somebody.
The only difference between the two, according to him, is that bullet moves at a higher velocity and carries more energy.
“For instance, if a patient has a bullet that goes through the abdomen, apart from damaging the structures that are directly in its way like the stomach and liver, the energy released can also damage the lungs.
“What most patients should be concerned about is healing in the affected part of the body. They require immediate surgery to repair damaged tissues. It is very important that dead tissues are removed.
“That is why surgery must be carried out on an emergency basis. But that can only be done after you stabilise the patient because most bullet wounds are associated with blood loss,” Ugburo said.
The surgeon said when a patient has bullet retained in the body, the priority of the surgeon is not to chase the bullets to save life.
He further added that if the bullet was made of metal, it cannot cause immediate danger to the life of the patient.
“What must be done is to resuscitate the patient first with blood. We need to go in quickly to stop any bleeding because that bullet may have damaged some blood vessels.
When you have such bleeding vessels, it is called an exigent surgery. Exigent means you don’t wait for resuscitation too much.
“A patient is bleeding and you are attempting to pass fluid or blood into his system. You will lose all the blood.
“No two bullet wounds are exactly the same. The doctor or surgeon knows what he is doing at all times,” he said.
The Lagos-based surgeon also warned that it would be suicidal to wheel any patient to the theatre without replacing what has been lost.
Ugburo said many patients do not understand such logic and usually go into panic when they experience what they consider a delay in the surgical process.
“Sometimes, you hear things like ‘Oh, they kept passing blood into my body without removing the bullets.’
“Yet, we need to stabilise the patient until all his vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse rate and urine passage are normal.
“Otherwise, when you put such patient to sleep, he will die under anaesthesia. That succinctly explains what causes a delay in the removal of bullets from gunshot victims.
“Usually, to resuscitate a patient would probably take between six and 16 hours, depending on how severe the injuries are,” he stated.
According to him, every medical professional understands that chasing bullets in gunshot patient’s body is a secondary task.
“Patients can retain bullet fragments in the body for many years without developing any deleterious problem if the bullets are made of metal. Some of these bullets you see, with time, can migrate out of the skin or tissue on their own.
“The only time when it is important for a doctor to chase and remove a bullet from the body is when the imaging, a special kind of X-ray called image intensifier, is available.
“As the surgeon is operating, he is seeing the bullet and how close it is to other tissues and organs,” he said.
Ugburo said that another exigent problem that could necessitate immediate surgical removal of bullets is when they are lodged too close to major vital blood vessels like the aorta that carries blood from the heart.
On the future consequence of gunshot wounds, the consultant surgeon explained that there was nothing peculiar to gunshot wounds, which he regards as any other wound.
“It is expected that such an injury may have a small entry point at the time of the attack. But when the bullet is coming out, it creates an exit point that can be five to 10 times bigger, which is not a bad thing. But the internal damage is much more serious.
“We are not encouraged to stitch upmost gunshot wounds. Once a bullet enters a patient’s body, as the energy dissipates, it causes a vacuum. That vacuum sucks air, sand and dirt into the body.
“If you stitch that kind of a wound, infection will surely take place. What we do at this point is to embark on a delay procedure before stitching it. That’s why gunshot injuries are described as dirty or contaminated wounds. If you stitch such wound, it will lead to infection,” Ugburo added.
LASEMA, Red Cross respond
When contacted both the Nigerian Red Cross Society and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency to find out their participation in attending to victims of a gunshot during the #ENDSARS protest, they both gave different accounts.
The NRSC branch training director, Ige Oladimeji, said only one victim with a bullet wound, a certain Wisdom, was given first aid treatment in Festac.
“The rest were victims of stampede, bike accidents and machete cuts which took place in various locations across Lagos State shortly after the #ENDSARS shooting at Lekki toll gate.
“Our ultimate aim is to cover such wounds against infection so that sepsis would not set in.
Once that is done, the next line of action is to transport the patient to the hospital for further medical attention.
“Our biggest challenge is mobility. As we speak, the Lagos Red Cross has only one functional ambulance, which we have been using for 15 years.
“Nevertheless, our duty as a first responder is to attend to all wounds, whether it is as a result of accident, abrasion, gunshot or collapsed structures,” he said.
Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said stopping the bleeding of victims at every scene of disaster is the ultimate goal.
He cited the case of a young paramedic intern, Marian Morinola, who was hit by stray bullets while discharging her duties at Oshodi.
“One of our paramedic interns, Morinola Marian Omobukola was hit by a bullet while on duty at 4.00 PM on October 20,” he said.
Knowing bullet wounds to be a complex one, the LASEMA boss said Morinola was immediately rushed to the agency’s trauma centre at the toll gate section of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway for medical attention.
When our correspondent paid a visit to the LASEMA secretariat in Alausa to check on Morinola, a staff who refused to be identified said she was given a one-month sick leave to fully recuperate.
“Marian has not resumed work from her one-month leave. Although she works with us here, she is usually stationed at our Cappa office in Oshodi where the incident happened,” she said.
Source: PUNCH News
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