December 2018 - CEDIMAT / Electrophysiology
This was the first pediatric electrophysiology (EP) mission to the Dominican Republic. We were hosted by CEDIMAT, in Santo Domingo, and sponsored by The David Ortiz Children's Fund. Pediatric patients were evaluated and ablations were performed. It was primarily a teaching mission to assist the local adult electrophysiology team become more comfortable with performing EP procedures on children, in an effort to develop the hospital's pediatric EP program.
Our cardiologists and EP specialists, Dr. David Chan, Dr. Gonzalez Calvimontes and EP nurse clinician, Tami Ackley, worked hand-in-hand with the local EP team led by Drs. Fernando Vidal and Elaine Nunez.
The trip was a success on many fronts. The patients did very well and the team worked together to assess patients, as well as to establish long term protocols for several complex patients. A professional network was created with the electrophysiology team led by Dr. Gonzalez Calvimontes at Unidad de Cirugia Cardiovascular de Guatemala (UNICAR).
Special thanks to Lorri Jenkins and the team at Medtronic for the generous donation of a lifesaving Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, which was implanted into Luis Carlos, a 17 year old impoverished young man. Having received the patient list just days before the mission, the Medtronic donation approval process was expedited in record time. The Heart Trust team, Luis Carlos and his family are incredibly grateful to Medtronic for its generosity.
It was heartwarming to witness the growth of the pediatric cardiac program thanks to the tireless energy of Nelva Pelaez de Pichardo and the passion of the medical team, currently led by Drs. Janet Toribio and Juan Leon Wyss. Heart Trust looks forward to continuing to work together to develop the Pediatric Cardiac Program at CEDIMAT.
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