Kumasi: KATH doctors perform first open heart surgeries on seven children successfully

A Ghanaian medical team, led by Dr Isaac Okyere, the Head of Cardiac Surgeon at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has successfully conducted open heart surgeries on seven children at the hospital. The open heart surgery is the first of its kind at the KATH. All the seven children survived the surgery and are said to be recuperating. An elated Dr Okyere said the surgeries, the first of its kind at the KATH, was a great boost for the medical team especially when all the seven children survived and are currently recuperating at the hospital. Six others were operated on by the team from the renowned Boston Children Hospital in the USA, as part of their eight-year long annual open heart surgery at the KATH where children with heart surgery are operated upon almost free. The Boston team led by a Ghanaian, Dr Thomas Fynn which had been visiting and operating Ghanaian children with congenital heart diseases also donated medicine and equipment valued at over $1 million to the KATH. Dr Okyere who was trained at the Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, by Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, called for support to realise the dream of Prof Frimpong-Boateng for Ghana to have its second Cardiothoracic Centre in Kumasi. He said since 2007 the Boston Team had been visiting annually and working with the Ghanaian team but this time they (Ghanaian team) took the bull by the horn and ventured in such a major breakthrough by independently operating on the seven children. Dr John Adabie Appiah, Paediatric Critical Care Senior Specialist at KATH, the only such specialist in West Africa, commended the nurses at the hospital for their dedication to duty and sacrifice and added that with support KATH would make great strides.