Live-tweets Heart Surgery At National Hospital Abuja Nigeria

The National Hospital in Abuja on Tuesday live-tweeted an operation to repair a hole in the heart of an eight-year-old girl. The hospital is the first in the country to live-tweet an operation, reported the BBC.
It was done to show Nigeria’s expertise to the world, hospital spokesman, Dr. Tayo Haastrup, told the BBC. Hospitals in some other countries, including Canada, have live-tweeted heart operations before.

Dr. Haastrup said there were no ethical concerns as the identify of the patient was kept confidential. The live-tweets from the hospital were as follows: “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.

“Happening now: Open Heart Surgery (Ventricular Septal Defect Repair) live at the Trauma Centre, National Hospital, Abuja.
“The surgeons are prepping and draping the patient in preparation for surgery.
“The patient is about to go on bypass – The bypass machine is a temporary replacement of the heart – before the heart is stopped.
“The bypass machine creates a new route for blood to circulate, so that the heart can be stopped.

“The patient has been taken off the bypass machine and the heart takes over. The patient is being closed up.
“The heart has been started again successfully and being tested to work just fine.”