Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital staff members marked a milestone achievement last week after undertaking heart rhythm procedures for the first time.
A statement from the Ministry of Health said staff members of the cardiology catheterisation laboratory (Cath Lab) at CWM collaborated with a specialist heart pacing team from the Pacific Islands Pacemaker Services (PIPS).
The statement said the team successfully undertook electrophysiology studies and ablation procedures on several young patients diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
“This is a rare syndrome found in young people where an abnormal rhythm causes the heart to beat faster than normal and can potentially be life threatening if undetected and not treated,” the statement said.
“The PIPS consist of volunteer doctors, cardiologists and heart rhythm specialists from Auckland, New Zealand who fundraise to travel around the Pacific implanting pacemakers for those who need it most.
“The group of doctors and specialists have been travelling annually to Fiji for the last 10 years to implant pacemakers and conduct follow up visits of their patients but this year they managed to carry out heart rhythm procedures for the first time.”
PIPS team leader and cardiologist Dr Andrew Martin, and CWM cardiologist Dr Shahin Nusair, both expressed gratitude to the Government for facilitating this request.
