Heart ops save kids

Main Stories

THE lives of Sheba Mackenzie, 6, and Victor Mesmin, 5, have been saved in free heart surgeries at the Port Moresby General Hospital.
The children, both from Milne Bay, are recovering after their operation on Sunday by Australian volunteers with the help of local counterparts in this chapter of Operation Open Heart Programmme.
The hospital’s leading heart specialist, Dr Noah Tapaua, led the local team of doctors and nurses which helped the Australian specialists.
The children had congenital heart defects, or hole in the heart.
Dr Tapaua said 13 more children are lined up for surgery this week, with youngest only one month old.
The programme also helps train local doctors and nurses. Dr Tapaua said that so far 29 nurses, two perfusionists, one anaesthetist and one cardiothoracic have been trained.
“The biggest challenge now is to have a heart centre provided with equipment so local doctors and nurses can fully use the skills and save more than a thousand lives,” he said.