Mankweng Hosp performs open heart surgery

Mankweng Hospital has somewhat proven that public health facilities in the province are also capable of offering complex medical surgery. This after a team of medical professionals led by the acting Head Clinical Care Services, Seshoka Muila reportedly performed open heart surgery on a 42-year-old patient who allegedly had a huge left atrial myxoma last Thursday. A myxoma is a noncancerous primary heart tumour.
It was reportedly the first of its kind and the most complicated surgical procedure to have been performed in any public hospital in Limpopo since 1996. For the past years, Limpopo has been referring all patients in need of cardiothoracic surgery to Gauteng, a statement informed. It was further learnt that after the successful operation, Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba visited the hospital to congratulate the staff.

Information made available to Polokwane Observer highlighted that the operation took about three hours the patient’s heart was stopped completely for about one hour and 45 minutes and successfully restarted afterwards.
Ramathuba was quoted to have said the surgery was an indication that public health care service in the province is on an upward trajectory. “We have been on a drive to recruit specialists so that in the long-term we could stop referring our patients to other provinces. Where we are still lacking we partner with specialists from other provinces to come and treat our people here in the province. I want to congratulate the team under the leadership of Muila,” said Ramathuba.
Muila reportedly said they were given 100 reasons why it couldn’t be done because Mankweng is a rural hospital but with God’s grace, the patient was fully awake and talking. He added that their role remained a simple one ‘Have a vision, provide clinical leadership, and persuade the team to rally behind it’. Muila reckoned that referring patients to Gauteng will soon be a thing of the past – in fact, soon other provinces will be referring patients to Limpopo, he reportedly commented.

Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za