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By Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
Twelve Nigerians are walking, bending, and moving freely again after receiving free, specialized knee surgery in a two-day medical outreach in Calabar, Cross River State.
The beneficiaries, a mix of naval personnel and civilians, had lived for years with torn ligaments, meniscus tears, and chronic knee pain that kept them off their feet.
The programme, a joint effort by the Nigerian Navy and the Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine Society of Nigeria, marked the society’s first medical outreach under its annual workshop.
The exercise opened at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), where five patients were treated and concluded at the Navy Reference Hospital Calabar with seven more surgeries.
A team of consultant surgeons from the Arthroscopy Society worked alongside Navy medical officers to carry out arthroscopic procedures — minimally invasive “keyhole” surgeries that use a small camera to repair joints without large cuts.
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“These are cases involving torn ligaments, meniscus injuries, and chronic knee pain that had limited mobility,” said Dr. Onyebuchi Osakwe of UCTH, an arthroscopy specialist and coordinator of the workshop. “The commonest we do are knee injuries from routine twists, common among athletes and everyday people.”
For the Navy, the outreach was more than charity and about capacity. Acting Commander of the Navy Reference Hospital, Surgeon Captain Jonathan Dunya, said the hospital hosted the surgeries to showcase its facilities and manpower.
“We are very privileged to have these experts here to help in knowledge transfer, recovery, and improvement in healthcare facilities and in the health of beneficiaries,” Dunya said.
Surgeons were flown in from different parts of the country for the one-day session at the Navy Hospital, Calabar. Dunya said the partnership aligns with the Navy’s mandate to support host communities and expand access to specialist care.
National President of the Arthroscopy Society of Nigeria and a consultant at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Ranti Babalola, said the Calabar programme is the “fifth in the series” of the society’s annual workshops, but the first to include a direct medical outreach. “The mission is to reduce the backlog of patients who need minimally invasive joint surgery but cannot afford it,” Babalola added.
For the 12 patients treated, the impact was immediate: free surgery, expert care, and a chance to return to normal life without the burden of chronic pain.
