Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) achieved another milestone with the successful completion of the first PDA (Patent ductus arteries) closure, completed at the PMGH Cath lab this week.
An excited Hospital CEO, Dr. Paki Molumi shared this with the media soon after the Cardio team successfully completed the procedure in the Cath lab.
“Thanks to the Cath lab team, the Anaesthetist team and Nursing team for these achievements for our people. The procedure took 15 minutes and with only sedation, Recovery time will be short, meaning short hospital stay,” said Dr. Molumi.
Dr. Molumi explained that PDA which stands for ‘Patent Ductus Arteriosus’ is a persistent opening between the two major blood vessels leading from the heart.
The opening (ductus arteriosus) is a congenital heart condition usually corrected by open surgery and this kind of procedure is usually done as part of the operation open-heart program. With this procedure now possible, babies who are born with this condition will no longer have operation scars when they are growing up.
“We can now do the procedure at the cath lab. It avoids opening up the chest of a child and leaving scars,” said Dr. Molumi.
He said this PDA is the first performed by the Interventional Cardiologist at Port Moresby General Hospital’s Kumul Petroleum National Heart Center, an achievement made possible through the support from Kumul Petroleum Holdings.