A Ghanaian Cardiac Paediatrician Specialist, with support from Global Heart Care, has undertaken the first cardiac catheterization surgery on three children with various heart complications at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC).
Cardiac catheterization is a procedure in which a thin, flexible tube (catheter) is guided through a blood vessel to the heart to diagnose or treat certain heart conditions such as clogged arteries or irregular heartbeats.
Using the Philip Asurion 7 technology for the first time in Ghana, the surgeons conducted a successful surgery on three children with various health complications within two hours with a short hospital stay of three days depending on their conditions.
Globally, 100 children are born with one heart complication or another.
Professor Nana Akyaa Yao, Consultant, Paediatric and Congenital Cardiologist, the only paediatric cardiologist in Ghana, during a media engagement, said cardiac catheterization surgery was the safest heart surgery with few complications because the patient would not be cut open for the procedure.
She explained that the procedure involved accessing the heart through blood vessels in the legs of patients and reaching it with tiny wires, then identifying and dealing with the problem.
She said limitations to such surgeries were medical and infrastructure deficits.
Prof Yao called for investment in infrastructure and training to improve cardiac paediatric training.
Dr. Darius Osei, Chief Executive Officer of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), said the Centre had successfully conducted more than 30 heart surgeries but 'this is the first time it has conducted a cardiac catheterization surgery'.
He said the Hospital was working with some organisations for surgeries for children with heart complications.
Source: Ghana News Agency