The National Hospital, Abuja on
Tuesday, August 11, 2015 did what may perhaps be the first of its kind
in Nigeria – sharing live updates from the operation theatre, of a
successful open heart surgery carried out at the tertiary health
institution today.
A social media account believed to be
that of the hospital on Twitter, took Nigerians and observers from
around the world through a step-by-step experience of the theatre room
as surgeons worked to correct a hole in the heart of a young female
patient. The operation lasted at least four hours.
The hospital began with an explanation
of the surgical operation about to be carried out, its purpose and
process as well as the profile of the patient.
The hospital then provided updates spaced as the surgery progressed.
A video of the heart being tested, after it was restarted, to ascertain that it was working effectively was also shared.
Following a positive feedback from the
test of the heart, the surgery was concluded with the heart taking over
its function from the bypass machine and the patient “closed up” – a
term that means the stitching up of the openings earlier made.
The National Hospital, Abuja was
established in 1999 and commissioned by former Head of State, Gen.
Abdusalam Abubakar. It was originally designed to cater for the needs of
women and children in Nigeria and to carry out extensive research into
the peculiar causes of women and children- related diseases in Africa.
The Hospital commenced operations on 1
September 1999 and subsequently expanded the scope of its operation to
accommodate male patients. Initially christened ‘National Hospital For
Women And Children’, the National Hospital, Abuja’ came into effect from
10 May 2000.
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