Edwin Frank, Frimpong-Boateng Kwabena
National Cardiothoracic Center, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, PO Box KB 846, Accra, Ghana.
Pan Afr Med J. 2011;9:3. doi: 10.4314/pamj.v9i1.71175. Epub 2011 May 11.
We read with concern the paper of Budzee and colleagues in a recent issue of the Pan African Medical Journal. We wish to draw the attention of the authors and the readership of the journal to gross inaccuracies in the report. The first open-heart surgery in Nigeria is reported to have taken place on 1(st) February 1974 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Enugu. Publications from the group in Abidjan indicate the performance of the first 300 cases of open-heart surgery by 1983, the figure increasing to 850 by 1987. Senegal reportedly began performing open-heart surgery in 1995 and is currently a reference point for open cardiac procedures for francophone West Africa. The Ghanaian open-heart experience began in 1964 when surface cooling was used to achieve hypothermia for the successful closure of an atrial septal defect. However, it was not until 1989 that Ghana's National Cardiothoracic Center (NCTC) was established. The NCTC performs regular open-cardiac procedures covering almost the entire spectrum of cardiothoracic procedures including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). The NCTC is equipped with modern cardiovascular/thoracic facilities and has been accredited by the West African College of Surgeons as a center of excellence for the training of cardiothoracic surgeons and has performed creditably in this regard. It is emphasized that open-heart surgery has been practiced in West Africa for decades and continues to be practiced with excellence matching international standards at Ghana's National Cardiothoracic Center.
我们关切地阅读了布德齐及其同事发表在最近一期《泛非医学杂志》上的论文。我们希望提请作者及该杂志的读者注意该报告中的严重失实之处。据报道，尼日利亚的首例心脏直视手术于1974年2月1日在埃努古的尼日利亚大学教学医院（UNTH）进行。阿比让的该团队发表的文章表明，到1983年已完成了300例心脏直视手术，到1987年这一数字增至850例。据报道，塞内加尔于1995年开始开展心脏直视手术，目前是西非法语国家心脏手术的参考中心。加纳的心脏直视手术经验始于1964年，当时采用体表降温实现低温，成功闭合了房间隔缺损。然而，直到1989年加纳国家心胸中心（NCTC）才得以成立。NCTC定期开展心脏直视手术，涵盖几乎所有心胸外科手术领域，包括电视辅助胸腔镜手术（VATS）。NCTC配备了现代化的心血管/胸科设施，并已被西非外科医生学院认可为心胸外科医生培训的卓越中心，在这方面表现出色。需要强调的是，心脏直视手术在西非已经开展了数十年，并且在加纳国家心胸中心，其手术水平持续保持卓越，与国际标准相当。
