KATH, Chinese Cardio specialist perform heart surgeries

More than 15 adults and children suffering from various life-threatening heart diseases will have their lives back through another free collaborative heart surgeries currently underway at the Komfo Anokye teaching Hospital (KATH), by its team of cardiothoracic surgeons and a counterpart 10 member team from China.

The event marks the second in two-weeks when the country’s second largest referral facility has witnessed theses surgeries through international collaboration with experts from abroad and forms part of KATH’s objective of setting up a Cardio centre to facilitate local cardio surgeries at the hospital.

This time, the team from Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute in Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China (ROC), through a bi-lateral cooperation with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), will together with the KATH team, do implantation of pace-makers and correct congenital heart abnormalities in kids.

Dr. Isaac Owusu, a consultant cardiologist briefing the press on Wednesday said the team brought along medications, equipment and consumables worth US$200,000, will also help build the capacities of the KATH team.

He said most of heart patients are currently being treated with medications to stabilize their conditions and it is only the severe and critical cases that had been selected for the surgeries.

Dr. Zhuang Jian, a consultant Cardiac Surgeon and leader of the Chinese team, expressed happiness with the cooperation and said the team from KATH had been very supportive.

The team leader who is also the Chief Executive of the Institute and chairman of the cardiovascular surgery board in China, said the government of China is pleased to support KATH’s effort to establish the cardio Units to save lives.

Dr. Jian hinted that currently two doctors are undergoing a two week-training in China and more doctors would follow suit.

Mr. George Tetteh, Director of administration and acting Chief executives of the hospital, thanked the Chinese government for the support and said global cooperation with the hospital would go a long way to help minimize the rising morbidity and mortality in heart and related diseases.

About two weeks ago, 13 children born with heart defects benefited from free heart surgeries through a similar cooperation between KATH and the Cardio Centre of the Boston Hospital in the United States.