Healthy children’s hearts in Sarajevo

Seven years ago Professor Gregor Wollenek, cardiac surgeon at Vienna’s General Hospital, started the “Sarajevo Children’s Cardiac Surgery” campaign. He and the members of his team regularly travel to the Bosnian capital to operate on children with congenital cardiac defects and train their Bosnian colleagues for these complicated operations.

Operations ten times more expensive

After the end of the war in 1995, several children from Bosnia-Herzegovina with congenital cardiac defects were operated at Vienna General Hospital’s Clinical Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery. The complex operations were made possible by donations. However, the cost of each operation was so high (at least 20,000 euros) that only very few children were able to receive this often live-saving treatment.

Good equipment, little know-how

It would have been possible to treat ten children for this amount in Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the course of a study trip which Professor Wollenek embarked upon in 1999, he found that – thanks to foreign assistance – the University Clinic in Sarajevo, had the necessary equipment and sufficient staff. However, his Bosnian colleagues had little practical experience of this kind of surgical operation.

Help for self-help

The idea was therefore born to travel to Sarajevo with a team of around 20 doctors, anaesthetists, operating-room nurses and others in order to be able to treat cardiopathic children at a tenth of the cost, and at the same time train Bosnian colleagues. To begin with, the doctors from Vienna performed the majority of the operations themselves. However, after seven years it is Bosnian surgeons who now lead most of the operations, whilst the Vienna team has a largely advisory and supportive function.

Independent operations

Doctors and nurses from Sarajevo University Clinic are also invited to come to Vienna to familiarize themselves with medical and organizational procedures at Vienna’s General Hospital. The training of nursing staff has already been successfully concluded. “In the mean time our colleagues in Sarajevo carry out routine operations without the team from Vienna being present. However, we still assist in complicated and difficult cases,” explained Wollenek in an interview with Wieninternational.at.

Next journey in March

Wollenek's team has travelled to Sarajevo a total of twenty times since March 2000. No fewer than 227 children aged between six days and 16 years have been operated to date. Their next journey will take place in March 2007. About 20 children will be treated during their stay in Bosnia. Two further trips are planned later this year.

The members of the team work free of charge and during vacation time. The “Sarajevo Children’s Cardiac Surgery” campaign was initially financed entirely by donations. In the mean time the health authorities in Sarajevo pay part of the costs. According to Wollenek, the project will continue at least until the end of 2008.

See also: Vienna city administration ist model for Sarajevo

Link-Tip

Sarajevo Children’s Cardiac Surgery Vienna General Hospital