UBTH performs 30 Cardiac surgeries
Authorities of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has disclosed that the Cardiothoracic unit of the Department of Surgery in the hospital has successfully performed over 30 cardiac surgeries in the last five years without any mortality.
Chief Medical Director of UBTH, Prof. Michael Ibadin, who disclosed this, on Wednesday, while expressing satisfaction with the latest feat of cardiac surgeons in the unit who successfully carried out a heart surgery on an 18-month-old girl, Emmanuella Obasogie, who was diagnosed with a hole in the heart.
He said that the hospital was poised to commence open heart surgeries with the near completion of its Cardiac Centre.
His words, “We are involved in surgeries of the lung, heart, chest wall and blood vessels. We have been rendering services here successfully for years. It is generally assumed that medical doctors and the health team are essentially doing nothing and our patients are increasingly being sent to India and other foreign countries for surgeries that are routinely and safely offered here in UBTH.
“However, presently offer safely many ranges of cardiac surgeries that patients are unwittingly being sent abroad for. These surgeries include patent ductis arteriosus (one of the ‘hole in heart’) ligation, shunts for cyanotic congenital heart diseases, pericardiostomy and pericardietomy
“We urged that all patients with heart disease should be first sent to us here in UBTH and this would further aid our development and allow our collaborative efforts to yield good results. For surgeries which are unable to offer, we would be able to offer counseling and medical advice and follow up after the procedure.
“We would be able to arrange for the surgeries in partnership with other centres in Nigeria and abroad and would be able to substantially reduce cost and other logistics for the patients”, he said.
He disclosed that funds have been budgeted for the equipment of the Cardiac Centre being built in the hospital just he said the management would explore other means that the centre was funded to meet its needs.
