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Save a child's heart: we can and we should
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, E Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel. saveachild@yahoo.com
Insights
A program at Wolfson Medical Center trained medical staff and treated children with congenital heart disease (CHD) in developing countries. This initiative successfully established regional centers, improving pediatric cardiac care globally.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Pediatric Cardiology
- International Medical Cooperation
Background:
- Congenital heart disease (CHD) poses a significant mortality risk for children in developing nations.
- The Wolfson Medical Center (WMC) initiated a program to address this critical healthcare gap.
- Limited access to specialized care and high costs hinder effective treatment for pediatric CHD in underserved regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish sustainable, hospital-based regional centers for pediatric congenital heart disease care in developing countries.
- To provide specialized training for local medical personnel in partner nations.
- To offer direct medical and surgical treatment for children with CHD at WMC and abroad when local options are unavailable or unaffordable.
Main Methods:
- Collaboration with international partners to refer indigent children for treatment and training.
- Conducting medical missions for patient evaluation, surgical procedures, and local capacity building.
- Utilizing volunteer medical staff and community support to deliver care within existing salary structures.
Main Results:
- Established seven partner sites across six countries: China, Ethiopia, Moldova, Nigeria, Palestinian Authority, and Tanzania.
- Trained 15 medical professionals (5 physicians, 10 nurses) from five countries.
- Performed 386 surgeries (360 at WMC, 26 abroad) with a 4.3% acute mortality rate and 92% follow-up completion.
Conclusions:
- Hospital-based regional centers are feasible for improving pediatric CHD care in developing countries.
- Effective planning enables the delivery of high-quality surgical outcomes and follow-up care.
- International collaboration and training are key to building sustainable pediatric cardiac programs globally.
Background:
Congenital heart disease (CHD) causes the death of thousands of children in developing countries. At the Wolfson Medical Center (WMC), a prototype program has been developed to address this issue.
Methods:
Since 1996, indigent children have been referred to the program, with the cooperation of partners in developing countries. The project's aims are to (a) train their medical personnel at WMC, (b) travel to participating countries to teach, evaluate patients, operate, and promote the development of local centers, and (c) treat children with CHD, at WMC, who lack a local option for care either due to prohibitive costs or unavailability. The project's personnel are state employees who volunteer to treat additional patients within the framework of their salaries, and community volunteers.
Results:
The program has seven partner sites in six countries, including two provinces in China (Hebei and Gansu), Ethiopia, Moldova, Nigeria, the Palestinian Authority, and Tanzania. Five physicians and 10 nurses have been trained from five participating countries. Over the past 4 years, 11 teaching trips have been made abroad, and operations have been performed at four partner sites. A total of 386 patients have been operated on-360 at WMC and 26 at other sites. There have been 17 (4.3%) acute deaths. Follow-up is 92% complete with 3 late deaths reported.
Conclusions:
Hospital-based regional centers can be created to promote the care of children with CHD in developing countries. Good results and follow-up care can be provided with appropriate planning.
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