Heart - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Lifesaving heart surgery rescues 5-year-old at Duchess Hospital

Vivian Ihechu
May, Wed, 2025

Health

Lifesaving heart surgery rescues 5-year-old at Duchess Hospital

245 total views today

By Vivian Ihechu

The Duchess International Hospital has performed a successful complex “open-heart” surgery operation on a five-year-old boy (known as “Master D”), born with a life-threatening congenital heart condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF).

ToF is a significant heart defect that affects the normal flow of blood through the heart and lungs.

L-R: Dr Tokunbo Shitta-Bey, Chief Executive Officer, Duchess International Hospital Ikeja; Dr Mudasiru Salami, Consultant Cardiothoracic and Pediatric Surgeon; Dr Bassey Udom, Cardiac Intensivist and Anesthetist; Mr Ademola Adetona and his wife, Mrs Olutope, parents of Master D; Mrs Adeola Lawal, Team Lead, ICU & CCU ; Mr Ayomide Ajani, Center Manager, Cardiac Theatre & Endoscopy and Dr Olajide Ojo, Clinical Director at a news conference in Lagos on Monday, May 26, 2025, to announce the successful complex open-heart surgery on Master D, a 5-year old boy at Duchess International Hospital.

The multidisciplinary surgical team, led by Dr Mudasiru Salami, undertook the procedure over three days in May 2025, saving the child’s life and marking a significant medical achievement for the hospital.

Dr Adetokunbo Shitta-Bey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Duchess International Hospital, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos on Monday, explained that the complex surgical procedure was successfully performed in stages over a combined period of approximately 14 hours.

He said it took place between May 19 and May 21, 2025.

According to him, a combined multidisciplinary team of specialised cardiac surgeons, cardiac anaesthetists, perfusionists, and intensivists among others, led by Salami, a Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon, achieved the feat.

He said that Master D had since made a remarkable recovery under the watchful eye of the intensive care team of the Duchess International Hospital’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

“He has now been transferred from the CICU for routine observation in the Paediatrics ward,” he said.

Explaining further why this is a great medical feat, Shitta-Bey said that in a normal heart, blood flows to the lungs from the right chambers of the heart to receive oxygen from the lungs.

“Whereas in a heart affected by a Tetralogy of Fallot, the defect causes the blood (which is low in oxygen) to flow in the wrong direction, by-passing the lungs and causing low energy levels.

“In Master D, it also presents with a persistent blue discolouration of his lips and tissues, chronic fatigue, shortness of breath and recurring chest infections.

“All these are classic signs and symptoms of this severe and debilitating congenital heart defect’’.

He said that the patient suffered from the four component malformations of this composite heart disease.

This included a hole in the wall between the two lower chambers of the heart, a narrowing of the valve of the main artery carrying blood to the lungs.

According to him, he also suffered a thickening of the muscle of the right lower chamber of the heart due mainly to a forced protracted increase in pressure and workload.

He added that it included poor positioning of the main artery that carries blood from the heart allowing blood to bypass the lungs and deliver blood poor in oxygen to the tissues and organs of the body.

“In most developed health systems around the world, this heart condition, which is present from birth, would normally be treated by an open-heart surgery operation within six to nine months of birth to prevent further complications occurring in the years to come.

“In Master D’s case, he has had to wait several long years before his delayed presentation at Duchess International Hospital at five years of age”.

Explaining further, Salami, a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, said that to perform such complex open-heart surgery in Master D’s case, the heart had to be arrested for the first five and a half hours.

“This was a huge risk.

“But the first miracle was that the heart came back instantly,’’ Salami remarked.

He emphasised the importance of teamwork, dedication, specialised clinical expertise and cutting-edge medical technology available at the Duchess International Hospital as essential ingredients in the overall success of the procedure.

He thanked Duchess Hospital staff for their show of humanity in donating fresh blood to transfuse the patient at a time this was critically needed.

Mother of the patient, Mrs Olutope Adetona, while speaking, thanked the Duchess Hospital for saving the life of her last-born child.

She noted that she had confidence that the hospital would be able to save her son after watching testimonials of satisfied patients on YouTube who had undergone open heart surgery at the hospital.

Adetona urged parents not to hide any challenge in the family but to speak out so that help can come in time.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that in less than four years of its existence, the Duchess International Hospital, which was opened to patients on Oct. 22, 2021, has continued to be a shining light in the delivery of affordable quality healthcare in Nigeria and Africa.

Its cutting-edge medical technology and experienced teams of specialised clinical, non-clinical and allied healthcare professionals have worked tirelessly to reverse the trend of medical tourism abroad.

It has also worked to build confidence and trust in healthcare services in Lagos and across Nigeria.

The hospital has noted an increasing trend of Nigerians in the diaspora coming back home to patronise its services in Lagos. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Oluwafunke Ishola

Greece Heart Doctors donate facility to Niger community

Ismail Abdulaziz
Jan, Sat, 2025

Health

Greece Heart Doctors donate facility to Niger community

479 total views today

By Rita Iliya

Heart Doctors from Greece have donated a newly constructed Primary Healthcare Centre to the people of Gusun Village, Kabo Ward in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger.

The project, tagged “Heart Doctors Project 2025”, was facilitated by Dr Mustapha Alheri, former Commissioner of Health in Niger.

Speaking at the commissioning of the project, Mrs Eheni Sotinou, who led the Heart Doctors’ team, commended Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger for his exceptional leadership.

“Since our intervention across the world, Africa, and Nigeria, we have never received a warm reception like the one Governor Bago gave us in Niger,” she said.

Sotinou explained that the Heart Doctors visited Gusun community on Nov. 9, 2024, and were moved to assist after seeing the deplorable state of the facility.

“We came from Greece, we learned from our fathers to assist,” she said.

The Heart Doctors’ team emphasised that they do not discriminate based on religion or tribe.

“We understand that we are all one, and God is one. We try to help people to be balanced in life,” Sotinou said.

In his remarks, Alheri thanked Gov. Bago for his development strides, saying it had attracted investors to the state.

He commended the people for their cooperation and thanked the Heart Doctors for their intervention in Niger in particular and the country at large.

The Secretary of Gurara Local Government council, Sadaiuki Abubakar also thanked the Heart Doctors for the facility and Alheri for facilitating the construction.

The village Head of Kabo, Alhaji Salisu Ahmadu, commended the Heart Doctors for coming to the aid of the community with the health facility.

“The gesture would never be forgotten and would stand the test of time,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that stakeholders, community leaders and residents of Gusun Village attended the commissioning of the project.

The facility, which was constructed and equipped by the Heart Doctors, is expected to provide quality healthcare services to the people of Gusun Village and its environs.(NAN)

Edited by Abdulfatai Beki/Oluwole Sogunle

Cardiac Arrest: Foundation trains 105 FAAN staff on response

Vivian Ihechu
Nov, Thu, 2024

Health

Cardiac Arrest: Foundation trains 105 FAAN staff on response

502 total views today

By Adeyemi Adeleye/Bolu Akindoyin
The Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) on Monday trained no fewer than 105 staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on basic life support for victims of cardiac arrest in airports.

Dr Olufemi Mobolaji-Lawal, the Chairman, Executive Council of NHF, said that the training on Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for basic Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) had become very important to safeguard lives.

Mobolaji- Lawal recalled that NHF and other partners had earlier donated some emergency equipment to the FAAN through the Federal Ministry of Health.

He said that ministry had also directed that all the staff of FAAN be trained.

NHF boss said: “Today is the first of those activities and it is to train staff of FAAN in the basic life support, that is basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“This is the resuscitation of somebody who has slumped, whose heart is not breathing.

“We know that part of that cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the use of the equipment called AED.

“When the heart is breathing ineffectively, it cannot pump blood. This training is to equip FAAN staff on how to resuscitate people that collapse all of a sudden in the airport, and how to use the equipment.”

He said that NHF, as a Non-Governmental Organisation, had been in the business of educating people and training them on how to live healthy and long.

According to him, the NHF has been donating such equipment to several other organisations and training has been carried out in some companies.

“NHF has been able to do this through partners and we need people to partner with us in order to deliver those trainings,” Mobolaji- Lawal said.

Dr Mutiu Rufai, the Guest Lecturer and a Medical Emergency Care Practitioner, said that cardiopulmonary resuscitation involved a procedure where the rescuer compressed the chest and breath for the victims of cardiac arrest.

Rufai, who noted that emergency cases were two – pre-hospital and in-hospital- said that not up to one per cent of victims of cardiac arrest were being rescued, because of where it happened and lack of training.

“The population of people that know what to do is very small.

“The in-hospital cardiac arrest emergency is better, because people must have been trained and they recognise when it is coming,” the certified instructor under American Heart Association, said.

He said that he had trained no fewer than 30,000 people in various organisations on cardiopulmonary resuscitation involving choking, slump, cardiac arrest and other heart-related diseases.

Also speaking, Dr Bilqis Ibrahim, the General Manager of the Association of Medical Clinics of FAAN, said that beneficiaries were not only FAAN staff but also included other agencies like Customs, Immigration, Police, Air Force, Quarantine among others at the airport.

Describing airports as gateway into the country, Ibrahim said that whenever there was an emergency, workers should know what to do to rescue lives.

One of the participants, Mrs Funke Ojekale, a FAAN staff, who described the training “as very rewarding”, said that it had enhanced her with basic ways to attend to such emergencies, and how to resuscitate the victim within a very short time.

Ojekale, said: “Now, I am in a better position to teach others around me, so that together, we can save lives in emergencies.”

On his own part, Mr Odion Andrew, also a staff of FAAN, who appreciated the organisers, said that he was ready to cascade the training to others.

“This is the essence of the training – to know and let others know,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Vivian Ihechu