12 patients go under knife

 By SONIA KENU 

THE Operation Open Heart team from Australia has conducted 12 operations since they started surgeries at the Port Moresby General Hospital on Sunday. 

Paediatric cardiologist Dr Mathias Tovilu said nine children and three adults had been operated on in the past two days. 

“The 30 patients who are on the surgery list are all children but we also have a separate list for adults because they were screened and selected separately,” Dr Tovilu said yesterday. 

Tovilu said doctors in the selection panel were required to visit all hospitals in the country to collect names of patients who had heart problems. 

It usually begins in March and ends in June. 

“We collected 521 children from around the country. Then we had a further review by visiting heart specialists, which brought the number down to 134,” he said. 

“We had a further discussion with a selection of 52. However, after a final selection, we have 30 patients for the operation.”

Tovilu said PNG doctors started closed heart operation last Monday and had completed 18 of 35 operations. 

“They have stopped this week due to the open heart operation but they will continue after the OOH is done,” he said.  

He said things were going smoothly and some patients for the closed heart operation had been discharged.