A four-member paediatric cardiac team from Qatar Charity has partnered with the paediatric cardiac team of the National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCTC) to perform life-saving cardiac procedures on 28 children and young patients with congenital heart conditions at the Centre, located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).

The four-day humanitarian mission marked Qatar Charity’s fifth visit to Ghana but its first mission hosted directly at KBTH.

The procedures were performed using advanced, minimally invasive cardiac catheterisation techniques at the Centre’s newly commissioned bi-plane cardiac catheterisation laboratory.

The Qatar Charity team comprised Lead Paediatric Interventional Cardiologist Dr Iyad Al-Ammouri; Senior Paediatric Cardiac Anaesthesiologist Dr Hasan Ismail Mahmoud Amar; Catheterisation Lab Technologist Mr Mohammad Faisal Hijazi Abu Rabie; and Cathlab Technology Assistant Mr Maysarah (M.N) Nafi’ Mosleh. Senior Cathlab Technician Mr Kulindwa W. Kasubi from Tanzania also participated.

The team worked alongside NCTC’s clinical team led by Paediatric Cardiologists Prof Nana-Akyaa Yao and Dr Della Adzosii, and Specialist Cathlab Anaesthesiologist Dr Sika Edinam Lumor.

Patients treated ranged in age from five-month-old infants to a 23-year-old medical student.

The interventions mainly involved closing abnormal cardiac connections and defects, commonly referred to as “holes in the heart,” as well as balloon dilations to treat narrowed heart valves and blood vessels.

According to the medical team, congenital heart conditions can result in severe breathing difficulties, recurrent chest infections, poor feeding, failure to thrive and, in severe cases, heart failure if left untreated.

Dr Al-Ammouri praised the collaboration and patient selection process and expressed optimism about future missions.

“We are hoping that we will continue to come every year and help the children Ghana with these specially selected cases, and also support the team at Korle Bu with the cases they perform in between mission visits,” he said.

Prof Yao described the use of the newly upgraded laboratory for the specialised procedures as a historic step forward for healthcare in Ghana. She also commended Qatar Charity for providing the specialised treatments at no cost to beneficiary families.

The Director of the NCTC, Dr Kow Entsua-Mensah, said the mission also focused on strengthening local capacity through hands-on training and knowledge exchange involving doctors, nurses, radiographers and anaesthetists.

“One of the main aims of doing this is capacity-building and enhancing our practice. It is very important for us to grow our practice, and having the team here has been helpful in opening new frontiers for us,” he said.

The NCTC and Qatar Charity intend to build on the partnership through annual missions to expand access to specialised cardiovascular care while strengthening the capacity of local clinicians to independently manage complex paediatric procedures between missions.