Heart Program at Cabral Y Baez Hospital

DRshooter

New member
Apr 23, 2004
107
0
0
45
There has been a team of Heart Surgeons from Ft. Myers, Fl. that has come down to Santiago about 10 times to do heart surgery on poor patients.
They have operated 100 patients to date. They have donated equipment valued at more than 600,000 dollars. If you add the cost of doing open heart surgery on 100 people in the US, then they have contributed close to 4 million dollars to the city of Santiago. Most of the patients are young (mid 20's-early 30's) that have been afected by reuhmatic fever, a disease that ruins heart valves. This does not happen in the 1st world, only in the 3rd world, where primary care is deficient. Without these operations, these people would face certain death.
I have been lucky enough to be a part of this group on several occassions, starting when I was a medical student at Cabral y Baez Hospital.
I thought I'd share with the forum and hopefully help get the word out of what is being done.
http://www.heartmission.com
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
I am wondering just who this "DRshooter is" ????

That program has been going on a long time and they do great work. Recently a group from Phoenix, AZ sent down a container of medical equipment valued at well over a quarter of a million dollars--for free! There is a foundation there in Phoenix run by one of the PUCMM grads who has established his practice in AZ...

People care.

HB :D:D:D
 

Mirador

On Permanent Vacation!
Apr 15, 2004
3,563
0
0
Heart valve disease is very prevalent in the DR, and contrary to the OP's opinion, it is due less to infections (rheumatic, others) than to congenital/genetic factors. Also, there are many institutions, both local and foreign, addressing the problem, performing hundreds of operations yearly. Now it is a common procedure to use valve tissue from pigs to repair and reconstruct human heart valves...


-
 

DRshooter

New member
Apr 23, 2004
107
0
0
45
Mirador said:
Heart valve disease is very prevalent in the DR, and contrary to the OP's opinion, it is due less to infections (rheumatic, others) than to congenital/genetic factors. Also, there are many institutions, both local and foreign, addressing the problem, performing hundreds of operations yearly. Now it is a common procedure to use valve tissue from pigs to repair and reconstruct human heart valves...


-

I have first assisted about 30 of these valve cases. They are due to Rheumatic fever. Of that we are 100% sure. In the DR, the #1 cause of mitral valve disease in adults is rheumatic fever.
The surgeons from the US never see this kind of valve damage in US patients because rheumatic fever is a disease that does not ocur if good primary care is in place. Some of them had never seen a rheumatic valve before.
Congenital valve problems are prevalent in children, the most frecuent here is tetralogy of falot, but we only operate adult patients.
So in conclusion, yes, congenital is frecuent. But in our adult population, it's rheumatic fever.
And yes, pig valves have been used for a loooong time, but we don't put them in young patients because they only last 7-10 years.
DrShooter
 

DRshooter

New member
Apr 23, 2004
107
0
0
45
Hillbilly said:
I am wondering just who this "DRshooter is" ????


That program has been going on a long time and they do great work. Recently a group from Phoenix, AZ sent down a container of medical equipment valued at well over a quarter of a million dollars--for free! There is a foundation there in Phoenix run by one of the PUCMM grads who has established his practice in AZ...

People care.

HB :D:D:D

This program is fairly new. Since 2002.
Me...I'm a guy that went to PUCMM medical school and was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
1) I sent you an e-mail

2) Today I was talking about this program and someone said that it cost the patients thousands of pesos for the valves. True? False?

HB :D:D:D
 

DRshooter

New member
Apr 23, 2004
107
0
0
45
Hillbilly said:
1) I sent you an e-mail

2) Today I was talking about this program and someone said that it cost the patients thousands of pesos for the valves. True? False?

HB :D:D:D

The valves are donated in the united states by the manufacturer. The patients do pay, but they pay for the costs to the hospital. Some pay more, some less. Others don't pay at all. It depends.
The american team does not charge a cent to come here. More so, the members of the team, which include nurses and tecnitians that are not rich by any means, pay their own plane tickets and take vacation time away from their families to come a do this work.
On the last trip, a perfusionist from San Francisco, Calif. payed for her flight down here out of pocket. Thats an expensive flight!
So, yes, the patients get charged, but for hospital costs... if the government donated the money...then they wouldn't be charged at all.
Still a good deal...getting world class surgery for very cheap...I mean, this surgeon has a mortality of 3% at cabral...thats comparable to cleveland clinic, mass general...etc.
It's a great thing to see someone who was very sick...walk out of the hospital problem free.
We don't see that very often at our public establishments.
 

amandalivoti

New member
Jan 20, 2006
57
0
0
they do the same thing here in sto dgo, at the plaza de la salud- what they call Heart Care Dominicana. they offer heart surgery for children.
CEDIMART at the plaza de la salud. most impressive place! state of the art! Heart Care International, International Hospital for Children, Variety Children?s Lifeline y Caribbean Heart Menders are organizations made up by more than two hundred members, doctors, nurses and technicians from the best hospitals dedicated to the care of heart problems in the United States.
just last month they came down- a team of Drs and Nurses and technicians. same story- donate their time, equipment etc. all free for the patients.
they will be coming back in june. i have been helping as an interpreter for them- it is very gratifying work.
they always need volunteers!
 

Flamingojohn

New member
Nov 11, 2005
40
0
0
St. Jude's Mechanical Valve

I personally am thankful for this information. I received a mechanical aortic valve- much longer life span than the pig valves- 13 years ago in April as a result of an allergic reaction to a wasp sting as a child. It is good to know there is a local hospital with the expertise just in case I ever need it.