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Dr. Diekramabo Ikenna Aguwuom is the first female orthopedic surgeon in Rivers State, Nigeria, an area of some 9.9 million inhabitants.
Dr. Aguwuom dreamed of completing a fellowship in spine surgery, and during a 2018 trauma fellowship at the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), she began the journey towards making her dream a reality.
She graduated from University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State as the best graduating medical student in her class and holds an impressive resume: A consultant orthopedic surgeon at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, she specialized in orthopedics and trauma. She is also a specialist fellow of both the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Surgeons. In addition, she is the first female recipient of the Nigerian Millar O. A. Jaja Prize for the Best Candidate in Orthopedics Post-Graduate Fellowship Examinations.
Dr. Aguwuom said, "At Hadassah, during my trauma fellowship in 2018, I walked into the spine operating room; I was wondering who I should talk to, since in the operating rooms, everybody dresses the same, and you don't know who's who. I just walked up to someone and introduced myself as a fellow in trauma with interest in spine and said I'd like to join the spine team in the operating room that day."
That person, she later learned, was Dr. Joshua Schroeder, director of spine surgery.
Following his advice, she completed a short spine fellowship in spine surgery in 2022, but that wasn't enough for Dr. Aguwuom, who wanted to learn more.
The opportunity materialized in May 2025, when Dr. Aguwuom was accepted for a long-term fellowship at HMO's Spine Unit.
"The Hadassah fellowship was a lifechanging experience for me," she said.
"I got more than I expected. I learned every day, at every point, no matter how big or small the case was. I was able to learn from everyone — the nurses, the doctors and the attendants. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here."
"You can have a dream, but sometimes when it becomes a reality, it is bigger than you imagined," she said, her words reminiscent of Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold's famous adage, "Dare to dream... and when you dream, dream big."
In a country with a population of more than 200 million people with few highly specialized spine surgeons, many patients have to go abroad to be treated.
Now, returning home, as the first female orthopedic spine surgeon in Nigeria, equipped with the skills learned at HMO, Dr. Aguwuom will change the lives of her patients.
"My aim is to be able to give quality spine care to Nigerian patients so that they don't have to leave the country to seek such aid. This was my main reason for coming to Hadassah. It pains me to see patients having to travel abroad to get treated."
At University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Dr. Aguwuom plans on practicing what she was taught by HMO's dedicated teams. "I don't have everything Hadassah has, like the robots, I'll have to do that manually, but I can apply and reproduce everything I learned at Hadassah."
"Dr. Aguwuom is a great surgeon, dedicated and hard-working,” said Dr. Schroeder. “She is a trailblazer. I am sure she will make us all at Hadassah proud."
