“I got back to the OR at 8:00 am”, Chimène Ahigban tells us. She is one of ten Beninese patients who have benefited from open heart surgery, an operation that involves opening the patient’s chest cavity to access and repair the heart.
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This form of intervention had never been carried out in Benin before the first French medical mission led by Mathieu Debauchez, cardiovascular surgeon.
“This is a first test which should be followed by other missions to carry out the transfer of technologies which should ultimately lead to Beninese patients being operated on as much as possible on Benin territory by Beninese teams.”
Participation of local doctors
Beninese doctors assisted Dr Debauchez in his intervention on Chimène and the other patients. The young woman in her thirties who could have been operated on for a long time was abandoned by her husband, the latter not having the thirty million CFA francs that the operation was to cost abroad, not to mention the costs related to the evacuation. Like most of the operated patients, Chimène Ahigban presented with a cardiac abnormality of the Fortis valve.
“It is a valve which is located at the exit of the heart and which prevents the blood from going back when the heart ejects the blood in the arteries, it is not necessary for the blood to come back when the heart fills up. valve does not work, it is leaking and therefore we have to put a valve on it as we say “continent.”
The successful intervention
Chimène is now safe and sound with an artificial prosthesis in place of the defective heart valve that keeps her alive.
“The day before, as they told me ‘we are going to operate on you on Wednesday’, ah! I can’t sleep any more. I started to think: ” how can I have my heart operated on, and if I was dying ?! But I prayed anyway. For the operation they even did it for free. Really I thank the state that did this because it is a disease that can kill us at any time. But now here, he saved us. “
The operations took place at the Hubert Koutoukou Maga National Hospital and University Center in Cotonou. Dieudonné Gnonlonfoun, the director of the CNHU, is pleased with this.
“Happy because it is in our time that the government decided to do everything possible so that we can have open heart surgery.”
Proud too, Beninese surgeons say they are seasoned and ready to take over. Wilfried Gandji, cardiovascular surgeon in Cotonou.
“We are working a lot on everything that is vascular thoracic surgery closed heart, and now open heart because we needed a lot of equipment and currently we are putting in place all the necessary structure to be able to take care of these patients. there on the spot. “
And it is for the happiness of the Beninese, in particular the sick predestined to be evacuated abroad to be operated there.
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