The cardiac surgery in Mauritania: a dream or reality?
On November 4, 2002, for the first time in Mauritania, an open heart surgery is performed in Nouakchott by the world Heart Foundation directed by Professor Thomas Pezzella, half a century after the first surgery in cardiac bypass had been successfully performed on a GIBBON in Minneapolis on the May 06, 1953.
Since November 4, 2002, several teams from France, Algeria and Tunisia relayed for humanitarian surgical missions during which, dozens of patients have been operated. Unfortunately, the waiting list for patients with increasingly serious heart diseases continues to grow. Not to mention all these newborns babies who die a few hours after birth due to lack of appropriate care.
« Health has no price but it has a cost that is rising ».
Today, the conditions for setting up a thoracic and cardiovascular surgery centre under the supervision of a foundation are met.
What are the challenges of creating such a center?
Why create such a centre in a country like ours..? A country where difficulties of achieving basic healthcare needs still persist. (see the WHO rapport concerning mauritanian health).
Might I remind you that cardiovascular diseases are now recognized as very common in Africa and in fact represent one of the leading causes of high mortality?
The populations of developing countries are rather young, and if its young growing population is the only great hope for better future, it also represents the great challenge for these countries given the increase birthrate, with congenital heart disease (4 to 12 children / year / 1000 births), and among older children, the number of acquired heart disease is growing because of the difficulties of preventing rheumatic fever raging so endemic in our country. The rate of population growth in our country is 2.7% and 46% of the population is under 15 years (according to World Atlas obs. 2002 edition).
Mauritania is undergoing an epidemiological transition with resurgence of diseases prevalent in industrialized countries. Diseases favored by physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, stress, hypertension… and their effects on the cardiovascular system. The prevalence of coronary heart disease in the country is far from negligible. More than 40% of medical evacuations to foreign countries are cardiovascular related diseases.
According to a study by the International Cooperation in World Cardiology, currently there is:
- - 1 cardiac surgery center per 120 000 inhabitants in the U.S.
- - 1 cardiac surgery center per 1 million inhabitants in Europe
- - 1 cardiac surgery center per 16 million inhabitants in Asian countries
- - 1 cardiac surgery center per 50 million inhabitants in Africa
The creation of a centre for cardiology and cardiovascular surgery will be a technological breakthrough and by the multidisciplinary nature of the areas it covers (explorations, biomedical laboratory, radiological equipment, and transfusion center…) will inexorably enhance the level of all other specialties as well as promote medical and scientific research in the country.
The evolution towards a much promising future must be conducted with the utmost rigor. The requirements of cardiac surgery are such that "A Mauritania model” can not exist. A best cardiac surgery practice cannot exist without respecting rigorous international norms
The establishment of thoracic surgery and cardio vascular integrated into the framework of a foundation will provide an appropriate and necessary response to this immense need.
The Chairman :
Dr. Ly Mohamedou
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