Celebrating 100 heart by-passes

Date Published: 13-May-2008

UNIVERSITY Hospital Galway’s Cardiothoracic Unit celebrates its first anniversary and has now carried out over 100 cardiac bypass operations.

Patients who require lung surgery are also benefiting from access to care as UHG develops its status as a supra-regional centre for cardiothoracic services.

Commenting Bridget Howley, General Manager UHG said: This milestone is a testament to the ongoing commitment to provide state of the art cardiothoracic services to the people of the West of Ireland. This is a significant achievement for the cardiothoracic team as well as the support staff in UHG.”

Mark da Costa, Cardiothoracic Surgeon said: “The cardiothoracic team has grown from less than 5 in December 2006 to over 60 currently providing direct patient care. In addition to this, a significant number of staff are providing vital support to the surgical team, to ensure that patients receive a high level of care. Many of our patients have been from County Galway, however referrals have been sent from all counties in HSE West – from Donegal through to Limerick and Westmeath. The development of cardiothoracic surgery has also benefited a number of patients from other specialties including cardiology respiratory and oncology.”

Dr Kieran Daly, Consultant Cardiologist and Research and Medical Director of Croi said: “The availability of cardiac surgery at UHG is a landmark achievement and highlights the significance of the work of Croi – the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation, in campaigning and fundraising. The presence of the cardiothoracic unit coupled with the advances in cardiology at UHG now provide us with……………………….