The Usmanu Danfodio Teaching Hospital Sokoto (UDUTH), says it has for the first time conducted open heart surgeries on six patients free.
The surgeries were conducted in partnership with King Muhammad IV, University Teaching Hospital Mamkedi in Morocco.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Anas Sabir, told newsmen on Wednesday that the effort was a completion of processes started long ago between the two hospitals targeted at saving lives.
The CMD, represented by Dr Nasir Muhammad, said a team of specialists from Morocco arrived on April 21, and joined UDUTH specialists to commence the surgery.
He said that the intervention was in recognition of the high cost of treatment for heart diseases which can run up to N5 million in some hospitals in Abuja.
According to him, the free surgery was to provide succour to indigent patients especially from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
According to Sabir, statistics indicated no fewer than 5,000 persons suffer from heart ailments from each of the states, mostly from low income families.
“The hospital made a lot of investment on the exercise, from staff training, facilities upgrades and provision of instruments which engulfed lot of resources.
“To train a consultant Doctor in heart surgery takes at least eight years, and at present two were trained from UDUTHS and some will follow.
“We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Moroccan university teaching hospital to share expertise and conduct the surgeries for the benefit of our ailing people and workers for future undertakings,” CMD said.
He added that at present the surgeries were free of charge, and appealed to wealthy individuals, corporate organisations, governments at all levels and groups to sponsor more patients.
The CMD said the need was in recognition of the enormous resources needed and condition of most patients unable to shoulder the expenses.
The Lead Consultant Cardiothoracic from UDUTHS, Dr Abdulrazak Umar, said they usually refer patients for foreign treatment when diagnosed with heart diseases that needed surgery which led them to various traumatic situations.
Umar expressed optimism that the present partnership would provide succour to patients.
He said under the present scheme at least N2 million was required for each surgery depending the nature of the ailment.
According to him, a foundation for open heart surgery sponsorship has been floated and registered already, and urged people to support the foundation located in the hospital.
Umar added that such donation would ensure continuity of the open heart surgeries in UDUTHS as many patients were dying in silence because they lacked financial capacity to take care of themselves.
In his remark, Prof. Bounbera Idrissi, a Consultant Cardiovascular Surgeon from Morocco said all the surgeries so far conducted were successful and the patients were responding to treatment.
Idrissi described the partnership as a good development toward saving lives and promoting knowledge sharing.
He said heart diseases vary and require different forms of surgeries identified through various tests and medical examinations.
He said causes were related to bacterial, infections while some were born with it.
He added that it may also occur due to pregnancy complications, hypertension, high collestral presence in body and others, while patients need to consult doctors for proper diagnose.
The experts said symptoms of heart problems comprised blueish skin on newborn baby, cough, improper growth, body weakness and not able to perform hard duties by a person and many others.
According to him, 95 per cent of persons that undergo heart surgery survived, but added that heart problem reduces life duration as patients without right treatment might die earlier than 50 to 60 years of age.
Nurses and other auxiliary workers from Morocco and UDUTH took part in the exercise.
A patient, Halimatu Abdullahi, who was first to benefit from the free surgery expressed appreciation to the hospital management as well as the team, on the treatment she received.
Abdullahi said she suffered from the ailment for years which led to her inability to do many things in life while enormous resources were expended by her family. (NAN)
