The first ever surgery has succeeded as 100 children with heart problems in the country await the charge free surgeries at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) by 35 specialists from Saudi Arabia and other countries.
MOI Executive Director, Dr Othman Kiloloma, addressing reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday, said the operation that used ‘posterior instrumentation and fusion’ technology lasted for at least five hours.
“This technology involves insertion of special metals in the spinal cord, which are placed on the upper and lower parts of the backbone to straighten it.
The operation had involved the institute’s surgeons who are undergoing professional training on children bones and backbone in collaboration with one of the best specialist from the United States of America (USA),” said Dr Kiloloma.
The successful operation was made possible through well established training cooperation between MOI and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) as well as USA specialists.
“These kinds of surgeries on children are expected to help the government cuts costs on the big number of referrals abroad,” he explained. He called on medics countrywide to enrol themselves in the training, pleading with parents whose children have similar cases to take them for examinations and surgeries.
A healthcare practitioner who specialises as Orthopaedic Surgeon and currently focusing on children between 0 and six years, Dr Bryson Mcharo, confirmed his participation to the surgery, which he described as highly successful. He said in most cases, scoliosis usually occur on the right part of the backbone, pointing out that the available equipment at the hospital can accommodate surgeries of up to 30 children.
Meanwhile, 100 children with heart
problems in the country are expected to undergo free of charge surgeries
for one week at the JKCI. The cardiologist at the JKCI, Dr Bashir
Nyangasa, told reporters that as of yesterday, the institute had
performed surgeries to 28 children from different parts of Tanzania.
Iringa-based Dhi-Nureyn Islamic Foundation (DIF) and Muntada Aid from the United Kingdom have jointly brought the team of 35 doctors for the operations, which started on October 8 and are expected to end on October 15, 2016, in the country.
“The presence of these doctors in our institute is helping us to get training and add experience in various aspects of cardiac surgery. They also came with medical equipment which seal holes in the heart without surgery,” said Dr Nyangasa.
He further explained that due to the high cost of heart treatment, most children with heart cases die because they cannot afford the cost for treatment, hinting that the cost of sending one patient for heart treatment abroad is 20,000 US Dollar (over 40m/-).
DIF General Secretary Shams Elmi called on ‘wananchi’ to donate safe blood to save the lives of children undergoing treatment at the institute, noting that performance of the surgeries require a lot of blood.
He said they had discovered that there was serious problem of heart for children in Zanzibar.
“Zanzibar is having a big number of children with heart problems but due to the low income level, many were unable to undergo health checkups for immediate treatment,” he said, putting the cost of organising the one week camp for heart treatment at 545m/-.
Source : Daily News Tanzania , 13th Oct 2016
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