By Demola Akinyemi

ILORIN – Potential victims of cardiac arrest popularly known as heart attack in Nigeria and beyond could now heave a sigh of relieve, as the giant feat of open heart surgery was successfully performed on three patients during the week at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital in Ilorin, Kwara state.

At the event,foundation laying ceremony of Cardiac Catheterization laboratory(Cathlab) centre for full fledged cardiac surgery centre and diagnosis and treatment of heart related diseases which was expected to be completed in six months was also performed .

The excited,Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, who explained that the teaching hospital had successfully carried out ‘bone marrow transplant’, surgery that could make sickle cell patients live normal life, also told journalists that the latest was Open Heart Surgery was performed by the combined team of medical experts from Apollo hospital in India led by Dr Neville Solomon, leader of the team and that of the teaching hospital,Dr Phillip Adeoye.

The children with holes in their hearts were aged between four and six years were said to be in stable conditions and may be discharged soon.

He said the cost of the surgery ranged between N700, 000 to N1. 8million, adding that the patients cannot afford the fees, hence the hospital subsidized it as they only paid less than 20% of the fee.

Prof Olatinwo also said that the hospital collaborated with the Apollo Hospital in India to carry out Open Heart Surgery with the first one performed on two young girls in July 2015.

The CMD said the medical Director of Apollo Hospital, Prof Solomon was a renown cardiac surgeon who performs over 3, 000 heart surgeries free around the world in a year.

Olatinwo who said that the hospital would soon become a one shop heart facility in Africa,stressed that already three of the doctors from the teaching hospital are on the verge of completing the training of heart surgery operation in India.

He said the vision of the hospital was to be the best Heart Centre in Africa before 2018, hence the resolve of the management to send three of the doctors on training in India.

Prof Olatinwo said Catheterization involves the use of machines and other imaging procedures to diagnose and treat congenial heart conditions.

“With Cat Lab, you can treat heart problems if the defect is not that much, patients with abnormal heart activities can also be treated in the Cat Lab,” Olatinwo said.

According to the CMD, what the hospital has been doing for the past five years and would continue to do would revert to medical tourism for the hospital.

He said that the hospital can now boast of qualified personnel and equipment that can give Nigerians, irrespective of status the best care in heart facility.

“As part of our vision, we want to make the hospital a one stop heart facility which we believe with this in place anybody with heart problem in Nigeria, Africa and West Africa can come for treatment,” Olatinwo said.