Dr. Kouassi Brou Ettien

Dr. Kouassi Brou Ettien is a general surgeon at CHU de Cocody in Abidjan — one of Ivory Coast's main university teaching hospitals and a major referral surgical center for the country's economic capital. With 18 years of surgical experience, he performs a broad range of abdominal, oncological, and endocrine surgery procedures for patients from Abidjan and across West Africa.

Ivory Coast is West Africa's economic powerhouse, and Abidjan — with a metropolitan population of over 5 million — has the region's more developed hospital infrastructure. CHU de Cocody is affiliated with the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny and trains surgical residents from across Francophone West Africa. Dr. Ettien completed laparoscopic surgery training in France, bringing minimally invasive surgical techniques to his practice at CHU de Cocody.

Surgical oncology is an increasingly important part of his work. Colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and thyroid cancer are the most common malignancies referred for surgical management in Abidjan. He performs mastectomy for breast cancer, thyroidectomy for thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer, and bowel resection for colorectal cancer. He consults in French and Dioula — the main commercial language of Ivory Coast.

Dr. Ettien completed his Doctorat en Médecine at the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny and his surgical specialty training through the Diplôme d'Études Spécialisées en Chirurgie Générale at CHU de Cocody — Abidjan's main academic hospital and the foremost surgical training centre in Côte d'Ivoire. He completed additional laparoscopic surgery training at a French university hospital through the West African surgical exchange programme coordinated by the Collège de Chirurgie d'Afrique Francophone (CCAF). He is a member of the Société Ivoirienne de Chirurgie and the CCAF. His French laparoscopic training gave him access to advanced minimally invasive surgical techniques that he has subsequently introduced and refined at CHU de Cocody.

Dr. Ettien's surgical practice covers laparoscopic cholecystectomy for gallstone disease, laparoscopic and open appendectomy, inguinal and umbilical hernia repair (open mesh technique), bowel resection for colorectal disease and colorectal cancer, thyroidectomy for thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer, mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer, and emergency abdominal surgery including perforation, obstruction, and abdominal trauma. He also manages perianal disease including haemorrhoidectomy and fistula surgery. In oncological surgery, he provides curative and palliative surgical management for gastrointestinal and thyroid malignancies in collaboration with the oncology services at CHU de Cocody, which is Côte d'Ivoire's primary cancer surgery centre. He also performs gastrostomy and jejunostomy tube placement for nutritional support in surgical patients.

CHU de Cocody serves Ivoirian domestic patients and regional patients from neighbouring Francophone West African countries including Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Dr. Ettien consults in French. Abidjan is accessible by direct flight from Paris, Brussels, London, and other major cities, and is the economic hub of Francophone West Africa. West African patients from across the region travel to Abidjan for surgical care at costs significantly below European or American prices. Pre-surgical consultation documentation can be prepared in French for referral purposes, and the hospital provides cost estimates and appointment coordination for patients travelling from outside Côte d'Ivoire.

Dr. Ettien has been recognized by CHU de Cocody for his contributions to surgical education and the training of West African surgical residents. He is an active member of the Société Ivoirienne de Chirurgie and the Collège de Chirurgie d'Afrique Francophone (CCAF), presenting at regional surgical congresses. He has contributed to the introduction and standardization of laparoscopic techniques at CHU de Cocody and received the CCAF Award for Excellence in Surgical Training for his leadership in building laparoscopic surgery capacity across Francophone West Africa. He has also received recognition from the Ivoirian Ministry of Health for contributions to surgical training and public health.