GPHC records first successful abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery

Sep 09, 2020 News

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has successfully conducted its first Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) surgery.

GPHC’s Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey.

The surgery was conducted on a female patient of GPHC on August 27, 2020.
Prior to this, patients needing the operation would have to access it overseas with a heavy price attached.
The operation was led by the General and Vascular Surgeon, Dr. Carlos Martin, and his team: Surgical Resident, Dr. Kapil Tiwari; Surgical, Transplant and Vascular Surgeon, Dr. Kishore Persaud; Anesthesiologists Dr. Arturo Marrero, Dr. Yvette Martin and Dr. Youlanda Hendricks, Nurse Simone Henry (Anesthesia student), Dr. Maxine Parks and Scrub Nurse, Shamin Leila.
Dr. Martin explained that an aneurysm as an abnormal dilatation (swelling) of the body’s main blood vessel – the aorta, which transports blood from the heart to all other body parts.
Generally, arteries have strong and thick walls, but certain ailments within someone’s DNA can result in the arteries weakening, which causes the force of the blood to constantly push against the enfeebled walls triggering them to swell, and subsequently, an aneurysm.
According to Dr. Martin, AAA is present in about 1 to 5 percent of the population on autopsy. Most AAAs are asymptomatic (showing no symptoms), but can be detected through physical examination, with proactive repair being the best way to manage AAA.

From left, Dr. Kapil Tiwari, Dr. Kishore Persaud, Dr. Carlos Martin, Dr. Arturo Marrero, Dr. Yvette Martin and Dr. Youlanda Hendricks, Nurse Simone Henry, Dr. Maxine Parks and Scrub Nurse Shamin Leila (kneeling).

“For an aneurysm, proactive care is highly needed, and thanks to teamwork and trust, we were able to effectively complete the surgery at GPHC,” Dr. Martin stated.
High blood pressure, blood vessel diseases, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) infection in the aorta and trauma are a number of factors than can contribute to the development of AAA.
Dr. Martin cited surgery as the only fix for AAA, and noted tobacco use, age (65 and older), being male, family history, being Caucasian, hypertension and connective tissue disorders as AAA risk factors.
Meanwhile, GPHC’s Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey, explained that the administration attributes the successful operation to the continued training and management of the staff.
He disclosed that in fact a total over 7,000 surgeries were performed at GPHC for 2019. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital has had to find new ways and means of performing its functions, GPHC has conducted just over 1,000 surgeries this year.
He praised Dr. Martin and his team for ensuring the successful completion of the surgery. The GPHC official also highlighted that the institution has significantly developed over the decades in the clinical and surgical management of its patients.
“GPHC has come a long way since in the 1980s. We have seen changes where patients were required to travel overseas for various surgeries that couldn’t have been done in Guyana. Now, we see the GPHC advancing massively in medical care and production, and I am very happy to be a part of this today,” Dr. Jeffrey emphasised.

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