Twenty-two patients suffering from severe heart rhythm abnormalities have received life-saving cardiac device implantation procedures at the National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCTC) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital under a collaborative medical mission involving the Mount Carmel Foundation, the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares), Africa World Airlines and a team of specialists from Ghana and the United States.
The five-day intervention, valued at approximately GH¢2 million, brought together Ghanaian and American healthcare professionals to provide advanced cardiac care to patients referred from across the country. The initiative focused on offering treatment to patients who would otherwise have been unable to afford the costly procedures.
Speaking during a debriefing session at the end of the mission, Director of the National Cardiothoracic Centre, Dr. Kow Entsua-Mensah, said the success of the programme was made possible through close collaboration among cardiac surgeons, cardiologist-electrophysiologists, anaesthesiologists, cath lab personnel, operating theatre teams, intensive care and ward nurses, radiographers, pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists and other support staff.
According to Dr. Entsua-Mensah, the multidisciplinary approach enabled the medical team to safely carry out the highly specialised procedures, with all 22 patients recovering well and ready for discharge by the end of the mission.
He disclosed that patients who were unable to undergo treatment during the exercise would still be attended to by specialists at the National Cardiothoracic Centre when they become available, adding that the collaboration has laid the foundation for sustained partnership between local and international experts.
Dr. Entsua-Mensah said beyond treating patients, the initiative is expected to strengthen Ghana’s capacity in advanced cardiac electrophysiology through continuous knowledge transfer, skills development and specialised training for local health professionals.
One of the beneficiaries, Juliet Asabea Awuku, who had been living with heart failure caused by peripartum cardiomyopathy, described the programme as life-changing after successfully undergoing a Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) device implantation.
She expressed appreciation to the local medical team, the visiting specialists and the sponsors for making the expensive procedure accessible, saying the financial support had given her and her family renewed hope.
Team Lead from the Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Kamel Addo, said the mission focused on performing complex electrophysiology procedures, including Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT), Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) implantation and left bundle branch area pacing for under-resourced patients with severe heart rhythm disorders.
He commended the staff of the National Cardiothoracic Centre for their professionalism, discipline and teamwork, describing their commitment as instrumental to the successful completion of all 22 procedures within the five-day mission.
Dr. Addo added that the Mount Carmel Foundation sponsored the programme to reduce the financial burden associated with the devices and procedures, ensuring that patients who could not ordinarily afford such advanced cardiac treatment had access to life-saving healthcare.
Story by Freedom Etsey Lavoe