The Lagos University Teaching Hospital has inaugurated West Africa’s first EyeSi Surgical Simulator at the newly established Gbemisola Olowolafe Centre for Ophthalmic Surgical Simulation.
Located at the Guinness Eye Centre in Lagos, the facility is expected to transform specialist eye care training by allowing surgeons to practise complex procedures in a controlled virtual environment before operating on patients.
The project was delivered through a partnership involving the Faculty of Ophthalmology of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, LUTH and the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation. It will provide practical instruction in phacoemulsification cataract surgery and vitreoretinal procedures.
Chairman of the Foundation, Tunji Olowolafe, said the initiative reflected the need to make continuous professional education a central part of healthcare practice. He explained that the idea emerged after members of the Faculty of Ophthalmology presented their vision for advanced simulation training during a 2025 faculty lecture.
According to him, the simulator allows both new and experienced surgeons to repeat delicate procedures, receive objective feedback and improve without exposing patients to risk. He argued that professional certification should mark the beginning of continued learning rather than the end of training.
Olowolafe said the system could help practitioners reinforce existing knowledge, learn new methods and abandon outdated techniques. He called for similar centres to be established in other Nigerian medical institutions.
He also expressed appreciation for the decision to name the centre after his late wife, Gbemisola Olowolafe, and thanked LUTH and the postgraduate college for providing a home for the facility.
Chairman of the Faculty of Ophthalmology, Charles Bekibele, said the project fulfilled a vision that had existed for more than three decades. He noted that Nigerian doctors previously travelled to countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh for advanced surgical training.
The centre has admitted an inaugural group of six trainees, including participants from Kaduna and Onitsha. The trainees praised the simulator’s realistic response and its support for coordinated two hand surgical practice.
Stakeholders believe the facility will reduce dependence on overseas training, lower surgical complications and position Nigeria as a regional centre for advanced ophthalmic education.
