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General News of Monday, April 29, 2019
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2019-04-29
Surgery is known as a mitral valve replacement surgery
For the first time in Ghana, an open heart surgery was successfully performed in front of the National Cardiothoracic Center at the Korle Bu University Hospital (KBTH) in Accra.
The operation conducted at the Accra province's specialized hospital is known to be a mitral valve replacement surgery. It was practiced to save a 61 year old man.
It was led by a medical team of 15 members, including three cardiac surgeons, and led by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Minister of Environment, Science, who was celebrated worldwide as a surgeon heart.
The other cardiac surgeons were Professor Martin Tamatey and Dr. Kofi Gyan Baffoe.
Professor Frimpong-Boateng is also known to have facilitated the establishment of the KBTH Cardiac Center in 1992, while he was the only Ghanaian heart surgeon of the time.
Over the years, the KBTH National Cardiothoracic Center has been the only well-equipped center capable of providing specialized open heart surgery in the country.
The Daily Graphic journalist had the rare opportunity to attend the operation, which lasted about four hours.
Replacement of the mitral valve
The replacement of the mitral valve requires the removal of a defective mitral valve and its replacement by an artificial valve.
The mitral valve is one of the four valves of the heart that facilitates the flow of blood to the heart and the entire body.
The blood flows from the lungs and enters a pumping chamber of the heart called the left atrium. The blood then flows into the last pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle.
The mitral valve is located between these two chambers. This ensures that the blood continues to move in the heart.
However, if he is damaged or impaired, he is unable to perform his duties properly, resulting in incompetence of the mitral valve.
If the impaired mitral valve is not treated, this can lead to complications such as heart failure.
The general symptoms of this disease are palpitations, shortness of breath and general fatigue.
observations
The Daily Graphic noted that the process officially started around 8:30 am and ended at 11:57.
It was performed under general anesthesia. A deep incision was made in the chest and sternum, then opened to expose the heart.
After being exposed, the core was cooled to stabilize it.
Then, the functions of the heart and lungs were transferred to the lung and cardiac bypbad apparatus to allow closure of the heart for surgery.
During all this time, the patient had been under strict computer monitoring to maintain his clinical measurements such as pulse, respiratory rate and blood pressure within range.
Small incisions were made in the heart to access the valve, which was removed and replaced by the prosthetic heart valve, the artificial valve.
After the replacement, the body temperature was brought back to normal and the patient was progressively weaned from the bypbad device, as the heart resumed its functions and pumped it again.
The sternum was closed with special wires to keep it stable during the healing process. Tissue and skin incisions were also closed.
The patient was prepared for the intensive care unit, where the Daily Graphic had been informed that it would be monitored for at least 48 hours.
Once the medical team made sure that everything was fine, the patient would be transferred to the recovery service for at least 10 days before leaving the system to continue the recovery process at home.
Observing drills and medical knives, among other instruments, used to perform various cuts was a very exciting process, but it was very relieving that after the operation, everything had gone well.
The Daily Graphic drew particular attention to the fact that even though the team members were very focused on the subject, they shared hearty and breathtaking moments and encouraged each other.
The fact that the team was also sure to announce each action before implementing it and that the constant appreciation of each other's role, among others, made the process more relaxed.
Support
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the operation, Professor Frimpong-Boateng said that he owned the province's specialty hospital and that he was planning to put in place world-clbad cardiology rooms equipped with machines to support the delivery of health care.
He quickly added that he was setting up heart centers with the best possible equipment to support national efforts to improve medical services and contribute to the national vision of medical tourism.
He said the international standard is that for 200,000 people there should be a heart center that meets their needs and, therefore, ideally, Ghana should have about 15 centers of this type.
However, he added, there was currently only one public center at Korle Bu University Hospital serving the needs of about 30 million people.
He said the inadequate centers vis-à-vis the population did not allow the efficiency, ease of access and other requirements of a quality care delivery.
Collaboration
Professor Frimpong-Boateng said he plans to facilitate collaboration with any hospital to establish a heart center, as well as Korle Bu University Hospital, to provide quality cardiac services to many service people.
He stated that he was ready to offer his support wherever he needed his free time.
He stated that he had trained about 50 cardiac surgeons from Ghana, Nigeria, Europe, Togo, Ethiopia, among other countries, adding that he would continue to do so because it gave him the satisfaction of being able, one day, if he was no longer, pbading on his knowledge and expertise to future generations.
He said today that he was happy for him to see some of the people he had trained play a major role in the first surgical process performed outside of Korle Bu.
"These guys are very knowledgeable and could have done it themselves, but being the first to come out of Korle Bu and my hospital, I thought I needed to lead the team as a motivator and take the lead. Entire responsibility of the patient.
But believe me, they can do it without me, "he said.
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