The Georgetown Public Hospital Corpo-ration (GPHC) says it is now one step closer to providing open-heart surgery, with the return of surgeon, Dr. Pradeep Ramkoomar who is now the only open-heart surgeon for adults in Guyana.
This is according to a press release from the hospital which said that Dr. Ramkoomar has successfully concluded a three-year fellowship training in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Madras Medical Mission, Chennai, India.
The hospital boasted Ramkoomar’s new specialization including beating-heart surgery and conventional on-pump bypass with exposure to robotics and minimally invasive cardiac surgery, which it said “signifies tremendous headway in the provision of world class healthcare” for Guyana.
His expertise the release said, has positioned Dr. Ramkoomar to pioneer the establishment of a department of Adult Cardiac Surgery at the GPHC, which will facilitate the routine provision of coronary artery bypass surgeries and heart valve replacements and repairs among other open-heart procedures, for persons with coronary artery and valvular heart diseases.
Additionally, the release said that the department will augment the GPHC’s current clinical and interventional arms of the cardiovascular services with the provision of full-time surgical support.
The release said that at least four patients are identified weekly who require open-heart surgeries at the GPHC, in addition to a backlog of patients awaiting these procedures who may have otherwise had to travel out of the country and pay to access these life-saving interventions.
It said that with the establishment of the Adult Cardiac Surgery department, therefore, the GPHC will now have the capacity to provide elective and emergency coverage for services such as minimally invasive valve surgeries and transcatheter aortic and mitral valve replacements.
According to the release, with continued support from GPHC’s administration, Dr. Pradeep Ramkoomar continues to advocate for the establishment of a sustainable and reliable model of adult cardiovascular care which mimics the more successful centres worldwide which operate independently, with clinical, interventional, and surgical arms under their purview.
Noting data published by the Global Heart Journal in April of this year, from research undertaken by the Guyana Programme to Advance Cardiac Care (GPACC), the release said that Guyana was cited as having one of the highest rates of cardiovascular mortality in South America with 291.9 deaths for every 100,000 people – 54% higher than the global average.
The release said that in fact, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) cites ischemic heart disease as the leading cause of death in Guyana, accounting for 15% of the total deaths annually.
The release said that it is with this reality in mind, that the availability of the requisite expertise to treat a range of heart conditions, become extremely important; and Dr. Ramkoomar’s expertise, instrumental.
The GPHC said in its release that as it continues to make strides to provide competitive healthcare services for the people of Guyana, the institution has seen the need to not only invest in infrastructure upgrades and specialized equipment and consumables, but the training and development of its human resources to enable the free provision of complex, and often costly medical procedures for its patients.
Through the provision of private-public partnerships, significant headway has been made to address the surgical needs of Guyana’s adult population but at a cost to patients with some support provided by the Government of Guyana the release said.
However, “to ensure that the trajectory of Guyana’s healthcare infrastructure is positioned to address the country’s epidemiological profile,” it said that there is a need for permanence in the availability of adult open-heart surgery and management.
