CHI to initiate inaugural paediatric surgeries today

Apr 10, 2010 News

As was assured by Dr Gary Stephens, Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) paediatric heart surgeries are set to commence today at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
During an interview last month Dr Stephens revealed that a full team from the Long Island Jewish Hospital of the United States was expected to travel here to facilitate about eight operations.
However, this newspaper has since learnt that about 11 operations will be undertaken this bout with at least one of the patients being drawn from Trinidad. All of the patients are reportedly below the age of 15.
It was initially anticipated that the operations would have been conducted in January but according to Dr Stephens unforeseen circumstances prevented that ambitious timeframe.
Reports are that the medical team travel here is being funded by renowned New York-based Guyanese businessman, George Subraj, who had help sponsor the inaugural kidney transplant operations which were under taken by Dr Rahul Jindal some two years ago.
And due to the excessive number of operations to be undertaken from today through the new week, the National Blood Transfusion Service is appealing to voluntary donors to give blood. According to a release from the Ministry of Health a large amount of blood is required to facilitate the operations.
“The NBTS does not have enough blood to support these surgeries and is in desperate demand….The NBTS is therefore seeking support from members of the public. We are asking persons to urgently donate blood. In order for these surgeries not to be affected and in order to help the hundreds of people in our hospitals who need blood now, we need all donors to come forward urgently.”
During the latter part of last year, about 20 children were screened by a Paediatric Cardiologist from the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr Stephens even at that time had speculated that by the time screening was completed the list of candidates suitable for surgery could have amounted to about 50.
He noted that all necessary precautions will be taken as this is the first time paediatric open-heart surgeries will be undertaken in Guyana.
He said that plans are being streamlined to utilise the local facility as one that could facilitate operations for children throughout the Caribbean.
Similar facilities, he said, will be introduced to Trinidad and Barbados and are likely to come into being in the near future.
This move, according to Dr Stephens, is being engaged by a doctor from Montreal, Canada, who is expected to make her first trip here to scrutinise the local facility in the near future. “The way they are hoping to operate is to bring down kids from Barbados and Trinidad here when we are having operations so that all operations could be done centrally. It will take some time but I am sure we will eventually get it done,” said an optimistic Dr Stephens.
And in order to accommodate the added operations, Dr Stephens said that the CHI will soon be afforded additional space within the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation compound.

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CHI to initiate inaugural paediatric surgeries today

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