Govt takes up cost of separating Siamese twins
The government has taken up the entire cost for the separation of the conjoined twins at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge).
Experts at the hospital estimate the cost of the operation to be GH¢15 million, involving specialist and state-of-the-art equipment worth GH¢12 million and consumables and other logistics at GH¢3 million.
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The Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, announced this on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when she visited the Siamese twins at the Ridge Hospital yesterday to announce the decision by the President for the government to underwrite the entire cost of the operation.
Advantages
According to the Neurosurgeon and Lead Consultant, Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the entire set of procedures would take over a year and involve over 160 medical and non-medical specialists.
Mrs Osei-Opare announced that the state would take up all the related costs of the procedure to ensure that there was no mishap, and gave an assurance that there would be timely release of funds, so that the equipment and consumables would be released on time.
“It is my pleasure to announce that President Akufo-Addo takes this as a historic opportunity, one that will save lives, save the family from a problem they may not be able to deal with in future and also build capacity for the country,” she stated.
The Chief of Staff said it was the belief of the government that equipment that would be purchased and the expertise that would be derived would benefit many other Ghanaians who would need complicated surgeries.
Narrating how the President got to know about the conjoined babies, she said the Minister of Health brought it to the attention of Cabinet and reported that the doctors were determined to undertake the separation in the country.
Ghana Beyond Aid
Mrs Osei-Opare conveyed the President’s belief that the determination of the medical team was in line with the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda and was glad that they were working as a team, supporting one another, for the common goal, a move that should be emulated by all.
“We noted in the Cabinet that this was an opportunity to equip the hospital to undertake complicated surgeries. Although the minister did not ask for this situation, we believe that given the courage of our doctors to do something about it, we should also use the opportunity to acquire what is needed in Ghana,” the Chief of Staff said.
Team
Dr Akoriyea explained that 160 medical and non-medical people would be assembled for the work at hand.
He noted that the United States of America used 150 people, the United Kingdom assembled 125, with India using 130, for similar surgeries and monitoring.
The procedures and recuperation will take over a year to complete.
In Ghana’s case, the 160 people will include cardiovascular specialists, neuro-surgeons, plastic surgeons, anesthetists, neuro-radiologists and radiologists, intensive care specialists, nurses and cleaners pulled from both private and public institutions.
Dr Akoriyea said the Ghana team was in constant communication with those who had done similar surgeries around the world.
He noted that the success of the procedure would be a historic moment that would change the landscape of medical expertise in the country.
He said the procedure would lead to the upgrade of equipment of each of the disciplines and bring to an end Ghanaians searching for medical care in those specialist areas elsewhere because with the upgrade, “we will be able to do all the complicated surgeries”.
He explained that the procedure would take a minimum of five stages in more than a year.
3D Modelling
Explaining how the procedure would add to the body of knowledge and expertise in the medical field, Dr Akoriyea said, for instance, that the Greater Accra Regional Hospital would undertake a test called Digital Retinal Imaging, the first time medics had got to know of its need because of the conjoined twins.
He added that four separate teams of data specialists located in Boston, USA, India, Europe and Ghana were working together to ensure that they would be able to undertake a three-dimensional (3D) modelling of the condition and the procedures.
“The Ghana Innovation Centre is also doing the 3D modelling, which is that any time a person is sick, we can easily model him in the computer system, work on him in the laboratory, after which we go in to do the surgery, leaving no chances for errors.
“Ghana is one of the best countries that have handled the COVID-19 and we are very proud of that. It has also shown us that a country cannot depend on foreign aid or foreign medical services because there will be a time when, no matter how much money you have, you cannot be flown out because all countries are on lockdown,” Dr Akoriyea stated.