By Sunday Elijah,
West Africa marked a medical milestone this year as the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja performed its first open-heart surgery and delivered the region’s first Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for lung cancer.
The CABG procedure represents the hospital’s first complex cardiac surgery, adding to its early record of pacemaker insertions, coronary angiographies, and percutaneous coronary interventions. The SBRT case, conducted on an elderly patient with a localized lung tumor, is the first in West Africa and demonstrates the hospital’s ability to deliver high-precision cancer treatment without surgery.
The hospital, a multi-specialty facility developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital London, currently has 170 beds and plans to expand to 500. Its facilities include a stem cell laboratory, three catheterisation labs, and advanced imaging equipment.
Medical experts say such procedures could reduce the US$6–10 billion Africans spend annually seeking treatment abroad and help retain specialized medical professionals within the region. AMCE is also preparing to perform more complex cardiovascular surgeries, including valve repairs and replacements.
The hospital’s early achievements position it as one of the few centers in Africa capable of providing fully integrated cardiac and oncology care under a single roof, combining diagnostics, interventional procedures, surgery, and radiation therapy.
