‘LASUTH’s open heart surgery will reduce medical tourism’

Worried by the increase in number of Nigerians travelling abroad for medical attention, management of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja has set up local team capable of undertaking open heart surgeries in the hospital.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof. Adewale Oke, at a press briefing held in the hospital after a successful surgery by a team of surgeons stated that LASUTH has carried out several successful open heart surgery mission with the help of Lagos State government over the years. “Our indigenous surgeons are getting stronger and becoming more knowledgeable every day through rigorous practice and discipline, to provide improved healthcare services to our people.”

The CMD noted that LASUTH is equipped with professionals who have acquired adequate knowledge of medical practice to deal not only with congenital heart disease but also with kidney disease through kidney transplant, knee disease through knee replacement surgery, ear disease or deafness through cochlear implant, all these and many other breakthroughs testify to innovation and professionalism in the hospital.

“Our facilities work is in progress, a young but fast growing teaching hospital in Nigeria. We will continue to deploy frontline technology to tackle congenital heart disease as in the case of the patient who had her damaged valve totally replaced with a new one in our institution here by indigenous cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons.

“The burden of structural heart disease requiring surgical intervention is on the rise in our society today, and we hope to do our best to bring respite to these kind of patients through proper and careful use of both human and material resources at our disposal.”

A lead surgeon in the hospital, Dr. Bode Falase, said there is need to create awareness that open heart surgery is now available in LASUTH, with adequate facilities and personnel.

“So, with right funding heart surgery can be done here locally with successful results.” Falase stated that major challenge they have is lack of electricity in the country. “We do not carry out any operation unless every thing is ready such diesel for generator or facilities. But we do our best to make sure we have power backups before we go into surgery.”

“This is public healthcare sector therefore; the cost of operation is lower to compare private hospitals. We have more qualified medical personnel here than private hospitals.”