Emergency staff at Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital (BMDH) in Jabulani, Soweto, saved a Grade 12 pupil’s life last month by performing their first heart surgery on him, after he was critically injured in a stabbing outside his school.
Tumisang Motsikwa (20) had been trying to save a pupil who was being mugged, and was in a highly unstable condition when he arrived at the hospital. His blood pressure was dropping rapidly and he was bleeding copiously from the chest, reports News24.
Head of Accident and Emergency at the hospital Dr Sashriqua Palliam and her team, including Dr Ismail Ebrahim, immediately resuscitated him, but because of the severity of his condition, could not transfer him to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
“This prompted the BMDH team to carry out emergency surgery on him,” said Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko. The median sternotomy operation lasted for more than an hour, during which they removed blood clots and sutured the heart muscle.
“He was kept in the ICU for three days and then released to the surgical ward before finally being discharged. I commend the Bheki Mlangeni team for the sterling work they did and for rising to the occasion,” added Nkomo-Ralehoko.
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