Via Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ)
Earlier today, a hospital in Nigeria live-tweeted the successful open heart surgery of an eight-year-old girl in Abuja. According to the BBC's Nasidi Adamu Yahya, the National Hospital, Abuja, is the first in Nigeria to live-tweet an operation. The hospital's spokesman, Dr Tayo Haastrup, tells the BBC the live-tweeting was done to show Nigeria's expertise to the world. (For more on why some others hospitals have chosen to live tweet one of their most complex procedures, read Matt Goodman's article for D Healthcare Daily).
Haastrup also told the BBC that there were no ethical concerns since the patient had not been identified.
The procedure performed was a median sternotomy to repair a hole in the heart of the girl. According to the hospital, the patient was born with the ailment.
Read @NatHospital_ABJ's full play-by-play in the series of thirteen tweets below.
Happening Now: Open Heart Surgery (Ventricular Septal Defect Repair) Live at the Trauma Centre, National Hospital, Abuja.
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015
The procedure is a repair of a hole in the heart. The patient is an eight year old girl and the ailment is congenital - She was born with it — Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015The surgeons are prepping and drapping the patient in preparation for surgery pic.twitter.com/w1sXJB6acm
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015
The surgeon is performing a Median Sternotomy - opening the chest of the patient. — Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015The patient is about to go on bypass - The bypass machine is a temporary replacement of the heart - before the heart is stopped.
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015
The bypass machine creates a new route for blood to circulate, so that the heart can be stopped. pic.twitter.com/X8ahKcUjwM — Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015The surgeons have connected the tubes successfully and the patient is now on bypass.
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015
The surgeons are trying to put a purse string around the RSPV (Right Superior Pulmonary Vein) — Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015And now a cannula has been inserted into the RSPV. This is to completely drain the heart of blood.
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015
The heart has been stopped and the bypass machine is continuing its functions. — Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015The corrective procedure is still being carried out on the heart and everything is going fine.
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015
The heart has been started again successfully and being tested to work just fine. pic.twitter.com/PJt8QmoCqD — Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015The patient has been taken off the bypass machine and the heart takes over. The patient is being closed up.
— Nat. Hospital Abuja (@NatHospital_ABJ) August 11, 2015