Accra, April 01, GNA-Dr Baffoe Gyan, a Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), has cautioned Ghanaians to seek treatment for rheumatic diseases to prevent heart surgery.
in future.
Rheumatic heart disease is a condition in which the heart valves have been permanently damaged by rheumatic fever. The heart valve damage may start shortly after untreated or under-treated streptococcal infection such as strep throat or scarlet fever.
He said this was important as rheumatic heart disease was the common disease that affected the heart in Ghana and mostly involved children between age five and nine years.
This disease develops when such children within the age bracket suffer from sore throat, which is not properly managed.
“So, let’s go back to the children who get sore throat and give them the proper antibiotics. And if it is confirmed that it is caused by a bacteria called streptococcus hemolytic bacteria that patient needs to be managed until he/she is 18 years, anything shot of these would lead to a heart surgery in future,” Dr Gyan stated.
“It is important to take antibiotics as prescribed and to complete them as instructed, even if you feel better after a few days”.
The Cardiologist explained that people who suffered from heart attacks experienced risk factors of the disease such as hypertension, cholesterol, high cholesterol, diabetes among others and advised that persons with such diseases to manage them effectively by taking their drugs, exercise, have proper diet to avoid heart surgery.
Dr Gyan made the observation in an interview after the UGMC conducted its first four open-heart surgeries, making it the second largest centre in the country.
The surgeries conducted included natural valve replacement, double valves replacement, two valves and bypass on three males and a female with eight more awaiting their turn.
He said the centre was now capable and opened to offer surgeries in the heart, the lungs and the blood vessels, chronic bypass, coronary artery, pacemaker implantation, aneurysm, synchronization therapy among other heart surgeries.
Dr Gyan indicated that the Centre was going to serve as an alternative to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and as such would be conducting small holes in heart surgeries and the Blalock-Taussig (BT) Shunts but would be offering advanced heart surgeries.
“These are cases we can do here. But with the complex ones because our colleagues at Korle-Bu have more experience, we send those ones to them to gain the experience to enable us to do such surgeries,” he added.
Dr Gyan explained that the Cardiothoracic Centre of UGMC aimed at training the next generation, to take over from them, intended doing the advanced surgeries and even sending surgeons outside Ghana to acquire more knowledge in heart treatment and transplant.
Dr. Darius Osei, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UGMC, recounting the history and the current state of the Centre, said that the necessary steps had been taken to ensure that the facility, equipment as well as its operations met the required standards of the World Health Organisation.
He reiterated that the cardio unit at UGMC would complement Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital as there were a lot of patients who needed such services.
Dr Osei added that the centre had a lot of services and called on people to walk-in for any of their services or even for referrals.
Source: Ghana News Agency
Add Comment