Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu
No fewer than 108 patients with various degrees of heart problems have successfully undergone open heart surgery at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu state, since 2013 when it recommenced its open heart surgery programme.

The hospital's Chief Medical Director, Dr. Christopher Amah, who disclosed this while briefing journalists on the ongoing open heart surgery of the hospital, said the beneficiaries drawn from various parts of the country had been billed for surgeries in various countries of the world.

Amah said that the good thing about the exercise was that it was done at reduced cost compared to what the patient would spend travelling overseas, adding that the feat was made possible by the partnership the hospital had with foreign organisations.

Amah said that organisations like Voom Foundation, Rotary International, among others, had always partnered with the hospital to provide human and material support to the programme.
He stated that the current open heart surgery which began on Monday had seen nine patients already operated on, stressing that the patients were doing very well.
The CMD said the unique thing about the current programme was that 90 per cent of the medical experts were drawn from the hospital, saying it was an indication that local experts would completely take over the programme in the next few months.At the moment, according to him, only two foreigners were working with experts in the hospital to carry out the surgeries.

"Our target is to do open heart surgery every month. We want to get to a point where we now do this routinely but more importantly at an affordable rate to Nigerians. We want to discourage medical tourism because of what Nigerians put into it. The UNTH is a centre of excellence and it is our hope that we keep the tempo", he said.

The CMD however expressed excitement that the strike action embarked upon by Association of Resident Doctors did not affect the current programme, expressing regrets that the doctors could embark on strike over issues that never existed. He said those who embarked on strike action did not mean well for the hospital but were chasing after selfish benefits.

"The money they seek has no approval from federal government. We have explained this severally to them but to no avail. Instead they choose the part of blackmail and feeding the public with falsehood. It is a pity. They should retrace their steps for good", he said.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/unth-performed-108-open-heart-surgeries-in-two-years-says-cmd/223629/

From what I garnered, the cost of a heart surgery at UNTH is #300,000.
Very cheap indeed.

are we talking about the UNTH in enugu or another one because if it is the one i knw that charges 900 per day for feeding whether you eat or nt, pls paying 2000 naira to sleep on their bed per night and also is it still the unth that is on strike. To me that hospital is a 7 star private hospital period

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Cstr..u report nd u also book ftc...d house officers re likely to run their programme for 2 yrs ...

CSTR2:
From what I garnered, the cost of a heart surgery at UNTH is #300,000.
Very cheap indeed.

Is this true, if so can you give a contact person to confirm the cost as I have someone that needs a heart surgery, thank you

Great super lions and lionesses in the house.Any UNCOMA member in the house
I am proud to be part of the pioneer house officers on the team that prepared the patients for the surgery.It was a huge success.My gratitude goes to all the cardiothoracic unit team,the cardiology unit teams,prof.Martin Ahaji,Prof.Anyanwu and all the laboratory and imaging unit medicine of UNTH.The pioneer take off was almost free and a huge success.UNTH,CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE,the best cardiothoracic centre, east of the Niger and beyond got the best surgeons and physicians.

dechriscool:
Great super lions and lionesses in the house.Any UNCOMA member in the house
I am proud to be part of the pioneer house officers on the team that prepared the patients for the surgery.It was a huge success.My gratitude goes to all the cardiothoracic unit team,the cardiology unit teams,prof.Martin Ahaji,Prof.Anyanwu and all the laboratory and imaging unit medicine of UNTH.The pioneer take off was almost free and a huge success.UNTH,CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE,the best cardiothoracic centre, east of the Niger and beyond got the best surgeons and physicians.

Please can I know the cost of the surgery as we are considering going to india but if the UNTH is cheaper we rather use it, thank you

HAH:


Please can I know the cost of the surgery as we are considering going to india but if the UNTH is cheaper we rather use it, thank you

I don't know the cost of the surgery presently.Besides,it depend on the heart problem your relative is having.Best bet,take your relative to the centre at enugu.They will do a proper review and evaluation to make their own diagnosis.Then a follow up and,what is required will be communicated to u.

dechriscool:
I don't know the cost of the surgery presently.Besides,it depend on the heart problem your relative is having.Best bet,take your relative to the centre at enugu.They will do a proper review and evaluation to make their own diagnosis.Then a follow up and,what is required will be communicated to u.

Thank you very much, will surely follow your advice.