The first open heart surgery in a
teaching hospital in Nigeria has been successfully carried out at the
University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The feat was carried out by surgeons
at the UCH in conjunction with a team of surgeons from Tri-State Cardiovascular
Delaware, United States of America,
A statement by the institution’s Head
of Information Unit, Mr. Toye Akinrinola, disclosed that the four-hour surgery
was to correct a leaking heart valve in a 19-year-old secondary school leaver.
An elated Chief Medical Director of
the UCH, Professor Temitope Alonge, noted that the UCH was moved to embark on
the exercise as a way of alleviating the hardship being experienced by
Nigerians with heart-related challenges.
He stated that as the first teaching
hospital in Nigeria, the UCH should take the lead in critical areas of
medicine, propelling it into ensuring that complex surgeries (like open heart
surgery) were carried out in the hospital.
“We are the pioneer teaching hospital
in Nigeria, and we should be taking the lead. We are going to do this and we
intend to make it a continuous exercise.
“In fact, within the next six months,
we intend carrying out not less than 30 heart-related surgeries and at
affordable cost to Nigerians.”
Alonge, who lamented that Nigerians
pay exorbitantly to undergo such procedures outside the country, pointing out
that the cheapest rate outside Nigeria was about N2.5 million.
“This is outside the airfare and
hotel bills. It will run into millions. But with us here, it will be a lot
cheaper and the access is there. The first surgery is heavily subsidised as a
way of encouraging Nigerians to have confidence in our healthcare system.”
Alonge stated that the Federal Government
had given the UCH a mandate to improve on the training of doctors as a way of
enhancing more access to adequate healthcare in Nigeria.
Leader of the doctors from the USA,
Dr. Kamar Adeleke noted that the patient would be back to his normal
activities in less than two months.
“He does not have anything to fear
about life expectancy. He will soon resume his normal activities, and do all
the things he was used to before he took ill,” Dr. Adeleke said.
Adeleke gave assurance of his
continued support to providing access to adequate healthcare as obtained in
other developed countries.
After more than a decade of of
inactivity, open heart surgery resumed in the country at the of Nigeria
Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Enugu, at an average cost of N500, 000.
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