Medical cooperation scheme with Lao PDR helps infants
A total of 36 Laotian babies with congenital heart defects are expected to receive free surgeries in Thai hospitals within the course of this year under a Thai-Lao medical cooperation scheme.
The Thai Red Cross Society, Chulalongkorn Hospital and the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Foundation teamed up with Laos’ Public Health Ministry and partner hospitals to provide much-needed heart surgeries to young patients in Laos, where surgical equipment is limited.
Dr Somsak Pratiphannawat, director of Nong Khai Hospital, said on Tuesday that the first baby had undergone successful surgery at the hospital on November 22 under the cooperation agreement and had since been allowed to return home to Laos.
He said the second baby who was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, however, has now been transferred to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok as his condition requires more complex treatment and equipment.
The hospital on Tuesday used social media to urge motorists on the northeastern bound Mittraphap Road to provide a passage for the ambulance carrying the baby to Bangkok so the surgery could be carried out in time.
After the surgery, the patient will be sent back to Nong Khai Hospital for rehabilitation until he is ready to go home, Somsak added.
Located in the northeastern border province, Nong Khai Hospital has been tasked with screening all 37 patients under the scheme and provide treatment as needed or refer the infants to other hospitals in Thailand that are more fully equipped.
The hospital director expects that the rest of the patients will receive their surgeries in Thailand within this year.
