The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, in collaboration with world renowned surgeon, Dr Diego Gonzalez Rivas, has performed its first-ever minimally invasive surgery outside a hospital setting in Ghana.
The surgery was performed in a mobile van, marking a new era in surgical care delivery.
Thanks to this ground-breaking innovation, patients who would have faced surgery costs between €15,000 and €20,000 have received their surgery at no cost.
The Director of Clinical Services at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Lawrence Ofori Boadu, expressed his excitement: “we have had some mobile clinics, but this special mobile clinic comes with a different ideology. It’s for most of the time the thoracic surgeries and we have never had a mobile clinic of such sort. So, it’s a novelty to us as Ghana Health Service and an improvement for our care.”
It is worth noting that Dr. Diego Gonzalez Rivas’ pioneering uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery technique in the mobile unit addresses surgical needs that resource limitations often prevent.
He explained his inspiration behind birthing the innovation, “I have a lot of problems in many countries in Africa because they don’t have good cameras, they don’t have the equipment, and the people are not well trained. So, I decided to create the foundation to make this mobile unit and to provide all the technology in this mobile hospital. With the highly furnished camera systems, all the anaesthetics development, and all my team with me to provide the best care for the patients in Africa.”
Ama, not her real name, is one of the three beneficiaries of this historic achievement and had been suffering from endometriosis with catamenial hemothorax. She recounted her painful two-year journey before the surgery which almost disrupted her education: “I was experiencing abdominal pain, and a scan revealed fluid accumulation in my chest and abdomen.” Post-surgery, she expressed relief, “After the surgery, I can see that I’m okay now.”
Ama took the opportunity to express her gratitude to the Diego Gonzalez Rivas Foundation.
She said, “I’m very grateful to the Diego Gonzalez Rivas Foundation. I am very happy to have been included in this project, and God bless the Greater Accra Regional Hospital for involving me.”
Dr. Ralph Armah, the Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and a consultant general surgeon who was part of the team that operated on Ama, explained, “she has what we call endometriosis with catamenial hemothorax. What that means is that she has ectopic tissues. When we say ectopic tissues, endometriosis tissue, that is, some is in the abdomen, so she bleeds. That’s what causes the abdominal distinction, and there are some in the chest.”
He further expressed optimism about the benefits of the mobile unit, “The vehicle has had our engineers look at it and know how it works. We’ve had our plumbers and other technicians also have a look.
The nurse and the doctors have also had a look. Everybody seems to have an idea about how it works and so we’re good to go,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Professor Samuel Kaba, a consultant neurologist, reflecting on his meeting with Dr. Diego Gonzalez Rivas said that although he is not a general surgeon, he felt compelled to contribute to Ghana’s healthcare.
He also highlighted the benefits the mobile unit van will be for health professionals in the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and Ghana at large, “They will train general surgeons in this procedure, and if the mobile unit performs well, it will remain at the Ridge Hospital and in Ghana. Our surgeons can also use it to provide services in other regions.”
By Samuel Yeboah Adams
