Download Jamaican Mother Gets Free Heart Surgery in Cayman Islands

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Jamaican Mother Gets Free Heart Surgery in Cayman
Islands
Lesha Matthews
CAYMAN ISLANDS (October 14, 2014) - A young woman from Jamaica returned home on Monday after
being the latest beneficiary of life-enhancing surgery and care provided free of charge by a team of cardiac
surgeons at Health City Cayman Islands.
"The young woman was suffering, and none of the clinics on the US mainland contacted by her doctor was
able to perform the procedure at no cost to the patient. Something needed to be done, so we stepped in,"
reported Shomari Scott, marketing director for the ultra-modern Cayman facility.
Lesha Matthews, a 25-year-old from Kingston, Jamaica, and mother of a two-year-old, was diagnosed with a
heart condition as a child. For the last six years her condition worsened and rendered her capable of only
routine activities. Her cardiologist then diagnosed her with a leaking heart valve that needed to be corrected
surgically.
However, because of financial constraints, Ms. Matthews was unable to get the urgently needed operation.
Her cardiologist in Kingston, Dr. William Foster, reached out to doctors and clinics in the United States
seeking their help, but all to no avail. He said "it was an odyssey that lasted a year."
But all that changed when her serious condition caught the eye of Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, Senior
Consultant, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, at Health City Cayman Islands, a few months ago.
"After detailed evaluation of all her reports, including the echocardiogram, we decided to invite her to Health
City for the surgery."
A delighted Dr. Foster in Jamaica moved quickly to arrange transportation and Cayman Airways stepped in to
donate her airfare. "I saw her off at the airport. As she sat in a wheelchair, she seemed apprehensive about
going alone, but happy that a bright future lay ahead," recalled the physician.
Upon her arrival at Health City, Dr. Binoy, as he is known to staff and the local community, found Ms.
Matthews undernourished and frail because of her longstanding heart disease: "One of the main valves in her
heart was leaking severely and the pumping ability of the heart was compromised.... it was decided to take her
up for surgery at the earliest."
At this stage, the experience of the Health City heart specialist came into play with Dr. Binoy and his team
opting for a more complicated operation, the expertise for which is available in only a few hospitals in the
United States. "The plan was to repair the valve and not to replace it - even though repair is more technically
challenging than replacing the valve - as replacing the valve with an artificial valve will make her dependent
on blood-thinning medications for the rest of her life, with its associated complications."
The procedure took three and half hours: "She was sitting on a chair the same evening sipping juice," he
said. "She will be on a few medications for three months and after that she will be free from all medications.
The prognosis for a healthy, normal life is a very good one," Dr. Binoy added.
Health City Cayman Islands, the vision of heart surgeon and humanitarian Dr. Devi Shetty, is supported by
two major healthcare organizations, Narayana Health and the U.S.-based Ascension, and the Cayman Islands
government. The facility provides compassionate, high-quality, affordable healthcare services for all in a
world-class, comfortable, patient-centered environment.
Offering healthcare to international, regional and local patients, Health City Cayman Islands provides
services in adult and pediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery, medical oncology, orthopedics, pediatric
endorinology, and pulmonology.
Post date: 2014-10-17 13:30:33
Post date GMT: 2014-10-17 17:30:33
Post modified date: 2014-10-17 13:30:33
Post modified date GMT: 2014-10-17 17:30:33
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