Over 25 children born with heart defects will get open heart surgery next week by a team of 22 pediatric cardiologists who reached Rwanda on Saturday.
The head of this charitable mission to save children born with heart defects, Thiery Sluysmans, says their mission is to save lives of Rwandan babies born with heart defects.
“Over 25 children suffering from heart defects will be operated before the team goes back to Belgium next week” Thiery Sluymans, the head of mission revealed.
He added that we decided to operate that big number of children and the aim of this mission is to save Rwandan children with heart defects.
Children who are born with complicated heart defects die when the holes in the heart are not fixed.
A family from Kimihurura sector in Gasabo recently rejoiced to see their baby healthy after an open heart surgery to fix holes in her heart done by the specialists in Belgium.
The mother of the baby Juliet Murekatete revealed that the life of her baby Fiona faded time to time from one month after her birth because of not affording the cost of operation.
“My family couldn’t afford 94M Rwf to take our baby for heart surgery who was six months old until she was taken to Belgium, it’s a miracle to see her back live” Juliet Murekatete says.
However one of the only two pediatric cardiologists in Rwanda, Dr Emmanuel Rusingiza, who diagnosed at CHUK Fiona’s heart defect said that the congenital heart defects differ but most of the children die.
The doctors from Belgium will operate 25 children born with heart defects within one week before going back to Belgium.
Thiery Sluysmans however says that they want Rwandan doctors to be able to do open heart surgery, saying that they are training doctors who will one day be able to do heart operation.
These doctors have been coming in Rwanda since 2005 on a program by the ministry of Health, King Faisal hospital host them but they use their materials.
A Pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist and a cardiologist for adults are under training but still Rwanda only has 2 pediatric cardiologist namely Dr Joseph Mucumbitsi at King Faisal and Dr. Rusingiza Emmanuel at CHUK.
These doctors are part of the Charity called Chain of Hope, Chaine d’espoir in French. They are from the Belgian hospital known as Cliniques St Luc.
They will do free operations at King Faisal starting next week.
Rwanda has been receiving pediatric cardiologists where they come and operate on babies and children born with heart diseases. They come every year in September.
Three other teams are expected in November one from Australia and two from the US.
