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Open-heart surgeries to continue early next month

Nov 18, 2010 News

– As part of measures to tackle CHI  waiting list

Routine open-heart surgery is set to continue at the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) early next month, even as efforts are made to reduce the number of cardiac patients awaiting medical attention at the local institution.
Operations at the heart institute were halted in May to allow for some needful upgrade. It was just a few weeks ago that full-scale operation resumed. Three successful operations were undertaken then and according to Chief Executive Officer, Dr Gary Stephens, he plans to return by the first week of next month.
In the past, open-heart surgeries, which are normally spearheaded by the United States-based Dr Stephens, were undertaken about three months part. “We will be here on December 4 and we are hoping to make sure that we do surgeries more regularly. We had only taken the break because we wanted to upgrade our facility…”
Though the facility is limited by its four-bed capacity, Dr Stephens said that there are yet plans to increase the number of patients that are attended to at any point in time. And this he anticipates will be possible with the inclusion of a supporting cardiac surgeon.
Dr Stephens, who is recognised as a renowned cardiac surgeon, is a Guyanese by birth who studied overseas but has opted to return here to offer his services despite his steady attachment to a reputable cardiac facility in the United States.
But even as efforts are being made to address the state of cardiac problems that present locally, Dr Stephens still has plans to undertake a research initiative to discern the root cause of heart diseases in Guyana.
Cardiac related ailments are among the most challenging health problems facing the local health sector, and it is the conviction of Dr Stephens, that root cause could be aptly analysed with a study.
According to the Cardiac Surgeon, heart cases have a certain mix of a number of factors including genetics, race, and even diet.
Dr Stephens has on a number of occasions alluded to the fact that the CHI’s list of cardiac patients that are yet to be attended to is seemingly
inexhaustible as persons are added constantly.
He pointed out, though, that it is not unusual that Guyana has a similar population mix as many countries with a similar heart disease rate.
However, he highlighted the fact that all of the cardiologists that he has brought to CHI have expressed surprise at the extent of the disease here. In addition, the doctor observed that the patients here often do not fit the regular profile of heart patients as is known in the United States where he is based.
“The majority of the heart cases we see are younger and are not obese as we are accustomed to seeing…so there may be some genetics involved which has to be figured out and I think it would make the basis for a great study once we have enough numbers.”
Accordingly, Dr Stephens said that efforts are being made by CHI to carefully chart all of the patients that are operated on to find whether there is a common thread that is specific to Guyana.
“If we find evidence of factors specific to Guyana we can go out and educate people of perhaps the need for a change in their lifestyles or to explain to them that there is a certain group that may be at higher risk than another.”
And though it may take a number of years to make such determinations, Dr Stephens said that plans are already on stream, even as he speculated that the process may take a number of years before realistic data can be derived.
In the meantime, he revealed that CHI is poised to offer the best of cardiac services to the local public at a sustained subsided cost.

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