Offering a new lease on life for young people
THREE children have already undergone paediatric open heart surgeries in Georgetown, giving a new lease on life to the young people, part of the historic surgeries by a dynamic United States medical team.
A team of medical professionals, including several cardiologists and surgeons from the U.S. is here for the paediatric heart surgeries being conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital , in collaboration with the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI), with US-based Guyanese philanthropist, George Subraj, being very instrumental in having this medical team here.
Speaking to the media yesterday afternoon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CHI, Dr. Gary Stephens, said that the plan is to perform eight to nine surgeries, two per day, and at present they are on schedule and have completed three operations.
Those who have had the surgeries are Nirvanie Browne, eleven; one year old Keandra Daniels; and  Shahel Griffith, eleven; while Bharrat Narine, nine, was preparing to go into surgery at press time last evening.
Dr. Stephens said from the inception of CHI, it was one of its dreams to bring such procedures here, and noted that this specific team has been around the world, with their Guyana leg in the pipeline about a year now.
He said three months ago, a cardiologist was in Guyana, screened the patients and selected eleven children.
He emphasised that this is a good example of Government and private sector cooperation, “trying to make things happen for the children of Guyana”.
Against this backdrop, he acknowledged the tremendous commitment and support of Mr. Subraj, a major sponsor of the exercise, noting that he has donated his time and effort to come to Guyana and be a part of this.
He also took note of the contribution of the Government of Guyana, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, Digicel, Laparkan Shipping, Pegasus Hotel, and others.
“Our plan is to do about eight to nine cases, and as of now, we have completed three, and all three kids are doing fine,” Dr. Stephens assured.
“This is a signal moment for us,” he declared, noting that paediatric open heart surgery is not like that with adults, since “it is so much more technically difficult and so much more involved, and hats off to Dr. Sheel and his team”.
He pointed out that the children do not have to travel half way around the world to get this done, and if the team is able to do this twice a year, it would be a huge deal for them.
He stressed that children are the future, and reminded, “And a lot of these kids, with this operation alone, they are going to go on and live normal lives; but if they didn’t have it, a lot of them would have been really sick.”
Dr. Stephens stated that the mission is budgeted at about US$50,000, but they don’t have a final figure as yet.
Surgeon Dr. Sheel Vatsia said, “I would just like to say on behalf of myself and our team that we are very happy to be part of this mission, and it is our privilege to come, and try and help these children”.
He said the medical team is surgically correcting a number of heart defects, and the range of defects is fairly diverse.
“Most of them will result in early or premature death of the child or individual if not fixed in a timely manner,” he pointed out.
He said many of these children ideally should have had their operative procedures done years ago, and that itself can give rise to a more technically challenging recovery and somewhat of a higher risk at times, depending on the individual patient.
But so far, “everything has worked out well with the children that we have been able to help”.
The specialist concluded that majority of these children should do well in the long-term.
George Subraj, grand sponsor and humanitarian, who is no stranger to helping those in need, he said, “I have done well, and I believe good giving is divine, and I should come back and help the less fortunate.”
He said he has been coming to Guyana since 1992 and saw the need for interventions for the children, noting, “I believe being of Guyanese origin, I should help”
He stated, “I have been personally blessed with more than what I need, and there are a lot of people who have less than what they need, and before I leave this planet, I feel I should give back something.”
Mr. Lake Persaud, who is the project Coordinator, also explained that last week, the case of Udesh Ragubar, two, of East Berbice, who has a heart defect and was in need of urgent surgery was brought to their attention, and is now on board.
Subraj has also been contributing in the area of education, and has donated a computer lab at the Saraswati Niketan at Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara.
The members of the medical team are:  Joanne Mora (Cardiologist), Shubhika Srivastava (Cardiologist), Sheel Vatsia (Surgeon),  Jeanine Lutgen ( Assistant Surgeon), Robert Stroud (Perfusionist/Heart Lung Machine), Trace Baker (Perfusionist/Heart lung machine), Tatyana Rozenthal (Anesthesiologist), Ingrid Hollinger (Anesthesiologist), Marietta Africano Sabido (Intensive Care Nurse), Colsie Elaine Myrie (Intensive Care Nurse), Marlene Kuanken Juanico (Intensive Care Nurse), Margie Enriquez Lutian (Intensive Care Nurse), and Maureen Fitzpatrick Gilroy (OR Scrub Tech).
Some of the patients listed are: Jenen Henry, Mohabir Aiden, Mohabir Naheem (of T&T), Nalini Persaud, Nicholas Persaud, Burnette Odette and Avinash Soman.