๐ง๐ผ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ โ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ง๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฎ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐ด๐บ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ
๐ด๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ , โ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.โ โ๏ธโค๏ธ This timeless phrase reflects the very essence of surgery: it is not merely about cutting, but about healing, restoring, and giving patients another chance at life. ๐โจ Surgery stands as one of the greatest triumphs of medicine โ from lifesaving cesarean sections and appendectomies to hernia repairs, trauma management, and organ transplants. Each procedure represents courage, precision, and the relentless pursuit of life over disease. ๐๐ฉบ
Yet, despite its undeniable impact, surgery often carries with it a heavy cloak of fear, suspicion, and stigma. ๐ This irrational dread, known in medicine as tomophobia, can prevent patients from accepting surgical care even when their lives depend on it.
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐
๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต
Doctors in Germany ๐ฉ๐ช once reported the case of a 69-year-old man who was rushed to the hospital after developing chest pain and severe shortness of breath. Tests confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack ๐, and scans showed that his heart arteries were badly blocked. The doctors told him he urgently needed bypass surgery to save his life.
But instead of agreeing, the man was overcome with intense fear and panic. ๐จ He could not bear the thought of being unconscious on an operating table, unable to control what was happening to his body. He felt terrified of putting his life in the hands of surgeons and anesthetists. Despite knowing the risks, he refused the operation.
This was not the first time he had avoided surgery. For over 20 years, he had lived with a painful hip condition that left one of his legs shorter and made it difficult to walk. ๐ฆต Later, he also developed a large hernia, but he refused surgery for both problems. His fear of operations was stronger than his hope for relief.
Psychiatrists later diagnosed him with tomophobia โ an irrational and overwhelming fear of surgery and invasive medical procedures. ๐ง He admitted that he felt ashamed of his fear, but he still could not overcome it. Even after treatment with medications and therapy, he continued to reject the heart operation.
In the end, this manโs story shows how powerful tomophobia can be: ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ โ ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
I am Matthew, a 5th-year medical student in Nigeria ๐ณ๐ฌ, a lower-middle-income country where cultural and religious beliefs run deep. โชโจ Time and again, I have witnessed the stigma and fear surrounding surgery. To many, the mere suggestion of a surgical intervention feels like a sentence of doom. โฐ๏ธ
Responses like:
โ๐ฎ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐
.โ ๐
โ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐.โ โ
โฆare common reactions when surgery is mentioned, even for routine and relatively safe procedures like appendectomy, hernia repair, or cesarean section (CS).
In Nigeria, women who undergo cesarean sections are often cruelly branded as โ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ฎโ or โ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ,โ ๐ก as though their womanhood and strength are diminished because they did not deliver vaginally. ๐คฑ This stigma extends beyond Nigeria into many cultures, where CS is seen not as a lifesaving intervention, but as a mark of failure.
The myths run even deeper โ some individuals genuinely believe that surgeons are members of occult groups ๐ฏ๏ธ๐ฎ, and that stepping into the operating room risks being used for rituals. These dangerous narratives have fueled an environment where fear is preached louder than science. ๐ข
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ
What makes this worse is that not all who reject surgery fit neatly into the medical diagnosis of tomophobia. Instead, they are ordinary people whose fears have been shaped by cultural storytelling, misinformation, and social stigma. ๐ฃ๏ธโ
These individuals arrive at the hospital seeking care. ๐ฅ But once surgical intervention is recommended, they leave heartbroken ๐, defeated, and determined to seek alternative โspiritualโ solutions โ prayers, fasting, faith rituals โ while silently deciding to live with their illness. Some even vow never to step into a hospital again. ๐ซ
This has devastating consequences:
๐น Pregnant women lose their lives during obstructed labor because they refused a CS. ๐คฐโ ๏ธ
๐น Children suffer lifelong complications from untreated hernias. ๐ถ
๐น Young adults die from appendicitis that could have been treated with a simple appendectomy. ๐งโโ๏ธ
All because of fear. ๐
๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
๐ผ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ข ๐๐ก๐ค๐๐๐ก (๐๐๐๐), we stand firmly against the stigma and fear surrounding surgical care. ๐๐ฉบ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ก
Every day, millions of lives are restored through safe surgical procedures. ๐ Every scar left behind is not a mark of weakness, but a testimony of survival and healing. ๐ช
It is time to break the silence ๐, to confront cultural stigmas, and to replace fear with truth. โ
๐น Cesarean sections save mothers and babies. ๐คฑโค๏ธ
๐น Appendectomies save lives. ๐จโโ๏ธ
๐น Trauma surgeries prevent lifelong disability or death. ๐
๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น
At TORG, we echo this loudly: ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐! ๐
We call for greater surgical advocacy โ preached louder than as the myths that once condemned it. ๐ข We call for communities, healthcare providers, religious leaders, and policymakers to unite in making surgical care not only accessible, but also trusted and stigma-free. ๐ฅ๐ค
๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐โฆ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ช๐ง๐. โ๏ธโค๏ธ
๐๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ! ๐
The Operating Room Global (TORG)
๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐!
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