By Gbenga Olarinoye

OSOGBO—The Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital Complex, OAUTH, has performed a medical feat when a team of consultants successfully carried out operation on six children with congenital heart disease (hole in the heart.)

The children, who are within the ages of one to three were among the set of 10 children selected for the first round of the operations that were carried within the last one week.

Surgeries for the remaining four children have however been suspended till July this year.

Briefing newsmen at the hospital complex, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Victor Adetiloye, said the medical feat was first of its kind to be carried out by the hospital.

According to him, open heart surgery is an expensive venture for which the hospital has spent a huge sum of money for the training of the personnels, buying of equipments and undertaking proper planning before the surgeries were carried out.

“This teaching hospital partnered with Professor Maqsood Elahi, a renowned consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and consultant in different medical fields across the country because open heart surgery is a new project in this hospital”, he said.

Professor Adetiloye said the success   recorded was due to   understanding between the Hospital and the Cardiac Eye Foundation International headed by Professor Elahi.

He specifically expressed gratitude to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi for supporting the hospital to buy of the medical equipments needed for the surgeries, Mr Edmund Doyah Tiemo who also donated a ventilated and syringe driver and Future Hope, UK, a foreign NGO who sponsored the operation of one of the children.