Kumul Petroleum National Heart Centre is celebrating its achievement since performing its first ever Patent Ductus arteries (PDA) closure a week ago at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH).
A press conference was called today by PMGH CEO, Dr Paki Molumi, Dr. Noah Tapau, Pioneer Cardiothoracic and Dr. Wesong Bolo, Intervention Cardiologic surgeon and the patron of the centre, to express their jubilation and appreciation.
Dr. Molumi explained that PDA is a congenital heart condition usually corrected by open surgery. He said it is now possible with non-evasive heart procedure to correct it. The Operation Open Heart usually does this procedure in the past.
The two heart surgeons proudly announced the reality of a heart procedure now possible at the PMGH.
In the last one year the heart centre performed 600 received angiography and stenting procedures for the heart without going through an open heart surgery and it was all a success. This is saving K250,000 at least per patient if they have to go overseas for treatment as such.
“PDA is mainly the children but once they reach the age of 18 and upwards with the condition, they start having complications and many of them don’t get to reach their 20th birthday. So it’s good to attend to them when they are really small to help them avoid the complications when they are growing up,” Dr. Tapaua said.
He said many of them come from very remote places like Tari. Riding in a vehicle and speaking Tok Pisin is foreign to them. However, the good thing is that they are able to get help earlier than later.
The doctors said that with the non-evasive service now in place, Papua New Guineans will no longer have to do painstaking fundraising drives to send sick relatives overseas.
However, Dr. Boko said the consumables of the non-evasive heart procedures are very, very expensive and it needs a lot of support from other State Owned Enterprises and the corporate sector.