Gastrointestinal endoscopy in Nigeria

Abstract

Materials for this review were obtained mainly through online search of relevant websites, survey of gastroenterologists in Nigeria, and personal communication with some leaders in various locations. Endoscopy became a reality because of the desire of medical practitioners over the centuries to look inside hollow organs to make accurate diagnosis and to treat such illnesses. From rudimental equipment in antiquity, endoscopy developed rapidly in the nineteenth century. Initial practitioners in Nigeria were foreign trained and were located in the first-generation teaching hospitals. The advance was slowed down with the downward trend of the economy in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Progress has picked up now due mainly to the establishment of more tertiary hospitals, training of specialists at the postgraduate colleges, and the influence of the professional body, Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria. Endoscopy has contributed to help us define more precisely the epidemiology of diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in Nigeria, including peptic ulcer disease, Helicobacter pylori, reflux disease, GI bleeding, and disease of the lower gastrointestinal tract. It has provided means for treating many diseases locally, without the need for surgery. For endoscopy to grow rapidly, we must use our training center regularly, persuade our administrators to see the need for providing equipment and facilities, bring along our support staff by providing relevant training, maintain collaboration with foreign partners, and influence equipment suppliers to provide better services to us though replacement agreements and establishment of competent repair facilities in Nigeria.