35 patients set to undergo plastic surgery
What you need to know:
The four-day programme is being carried out at the Aga Khan Hospital.
Dar es Salaam. Surgeons from the Aga Khan Hospital and Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), in collaboration with WomenforWomen from US, yesterday started performing rare plastic surgeries for identified and selected 35 women and children suffering from various complications such as fire burns, violence and deformation.
The four-day programme is being carried out at the Aga Khan Hospital.
The programme initially included patient selection during a camp on October 29 followed by patient preoperative and anesthesiology clinic screening whereby at least 241 candidates were screened.
Out of these 35 patients were then screened prior to surgery by the full clinical team and provided with instructions about the admissions process and operation.
Briefing reporters, the Aga Khan Hospital nurse manager operating theatre, Ms Zainab Mallya, noted that patients selected were aged between 1 and 65 and were all drawn from various parts of Tanzania.
“We had a free screening camp and now free treatments to all patients undergoing various procedures. Total estimated cost for this programme is $60, 000, about Sh131 million,” she noted.
Ms Mallya said that minor procedure patients would be discharged on the same day of the surgery, while other patients will be discharged after 1 night of stay at the hospital while other major procedure patients will remain for dressing change and daily monitoring for up to 12 post-surgery days.
On same occasion, MNH head of Plastic Surgery, Dr Edwin Mrema, noted that the medical assistance provided will enable the government and private health sector to transform the healthcare service delivery in the country.
He also assured that plastic surgeons at MNH were capable of performing similar procedures and urged people with such deformities to visit the hospital for treatment.
“To begin with, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (Muhas) will start offering Master’s degree courses in plastic surgery from next year in efforts to generate local plastic surgeons capable of performing the rare surgeries alone,” he noted.
