Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery : First Operation Conducted

A number of patients with heart problems have successfully undergone coronary artery bypass surgery at the Douala General Hospital. The beating-heart surgery was the first of its kind in sub-regional French-speaking Africa. The first patient was operated upon on October 26, 2022 and by Friday, October 28, 2022 two more patients had undergone the surgery called beating-heart surgery. They were diagnosed using an ultramodern diagnostic equipment called CT coronarography recently acquired by the hospital. The equipment works by identifying the sites of narrowing or blockage in arteries, and any blood clots. 
A mixed mission of health experts from Belgium and France worked in close collaboration with local cardiologists during a stay that runs from October 26, 2022 to November 6, 2022. According to Prof. Kamdem Felicite, Head of Service for Cardiology at the Douala General Hospital, scoronary artery bypass grafting also known as heart bypass surgery is a procedure to restore blood flow to areas of the heart. It restores blood flow by using blood vessels from other parts of the body to create a detour around blockages. 
“We have had over 150 cases of surgeries in 10 years with about 95 per cent success rate; but this present surgery which is the 17th is different because we are using a new diagnostic equipment and for the first time coronary artery bypass surgery is performed here,’ Prof. Namme Luma, Director General of the Douala General Hospital, told reporters. The General Hospital is a first category hospital, meaning that it is a referral hospital. Patients come from all the regions of Cameroon and from neighbouring countries. Patients are referred to cardiologists ther...