The Sunday Mail
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
A LOCAL team of doctors recently conducted two successful open-heart surgeries at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, marking the resumption of the complex medical procedure that was last done in 2018.
Ms Blessing Bonda (29), who suffered from a rheumatic heart condition, was the first to undergo a six-hour-long operation a fortnight ago under the care of a team of local doctors and specialists.
The team comprised three cardiothoracic surgeons, six anaesthetists, two perfusionists, three student doctors, six theatre nurses, two laboratory specialists and six other specialists.
Last week, the team performed a second operation on another patient, who chose to remain anonymous, in three-and-a-half hours.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, who is also Minister of Health and Child Care, visited the first patient prior to the procedure a fortnight ago, marking the relaunch of open-heart surgeries in the country.
The last open-heart surgery in Zimbabwe was conducted in October 2018 and since then, patients have had to travel to India, Italy and South Africa for the procedure. Cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Dr Simukayi Machawira, who was part of the team of specialists, said: “We are very happy to have operated on our first patient — Blessing Bonda.
“It was a cause for much anxiety for both the patient and us, as the operating
team.
This was because it had been about five years since we had done such a case locally. We are happy
that everything worked out very well.
“The journey to recovery for the patient was a bit tumultuous, otherwise she is doing well.
“As the first patient we operated on, we are taking baby steps to make sure she attains the desired result.”
Going forward, the team will begin operating on at least one patient weekly, with future plans for daily operations on the cards.
An estimated 700 people are on the waiting list for open-heart surgeries in the country.
Speaking from her hospital bed, Ms Bonda said she was anxious ahead of the procedure.
“As the first patient, I was afraid that the doctors would be experimenting on me,” she said.
“However, I want to thank the doctors because the operation was successful.”
A person with rheumatic heart disease suffers from a damaged vein in the heart, which stops blood from flowing properly.
To operate on that vein, doctors need to attach the patient to a high-tech machine, which assumes the role of the patient’s heart and lungs.
The heart is then injected with a drug to stop it from functioning, before the specialists open it to remove the damaged vein.
They then replace it with a mechanical prosthesis, a valve made of carbon fibre, which then assumes the role of the damaged vein.
After that, the specialists clean the heart and transfuse it with clean blood before it resumes functioning.
The patient is then removed from the machine.
Patients generally recover between two and six months.
Parirenyatwa is the sole institution that provides open-heart surgeries in Zimbabwe.
