1st Open Heart Surgery In UCH - Successful

The first open heart surgery in a teaching hospital in Nigeria has been successfully carried out at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The operation was performed by surgeons at the UCH together with a team of surgeons from the United States.

According to the statement made by the institution’s Head of Information Unit, Mr. Toye Akinrinola, the 4-hour surgery was aimed at fixing a leaking heart valve in a 19-year-old patient.

Professor Temitope Alonge, Chief Medical Director of the UCH, was very excited about the result. He said:

“We are the pioneer teaching hospital in Nigeria, and we should be taking the lead. We are going to do this and we intend to make it a continuous exercise.

“In fact, within the next six months, we intend carrying out not less than 30 heart-related surgeries and at affordable cost to Nigerians.”

Alonge felt really sorry that the Nigerians had to pay huge amounts of money in order to undergo such procedures outside the country. He said the cheapest rate outside Nigeria was about N2.5 million.

But now he is sure that it will become a lot cheaper. The first surgery, according to Alonge, is heavily subsidized - it is a way of encouraging Nigerians to believe in their own healthcare system.

Professor also added that the Federal Government had given the UCH a mandate to improve on the training of doctors as a means of enhancing more access to adequate healthcare in Nigeria.

Dr. Kamar Adeleke, USA, claimed that the patient would be back to his normal life in less than two months.