On Wednesday 27 January 2010 I attended my second heart bypass operation – the first one I attended was my own, so I don’t remember much about that. But this time I got to meet a patient’s heart, in an unusual reality show.
I watched for four hours as Vergelegen cardiothoracic surgeon Dr “Spanner” van Zyl and his team took three lengths of blood vessel harvested from the patient’s chest, left leg and left arm to bypass diseased arteries in her heart.
On behalf of the Helderberg Cardiac Support Group I would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff who were involved in this procedure. Meet the team:
Dr van Zyl is a cardiothoracic surgeon at Vergelegen Medi-Clinic and has completed thousands of cardiac procedures.
Dr Jody Howard and Dr John Anderson who assisted him throughout the operation, Jody removing the vein from the left leg and her and John helping with the surgery.
Dr André Phillips the anaesthetist who put the patient to sleep and kept her safe throughout the operation. He also operated the ultrasound machine, which provided detailed images of the heart.
Josie Milles the perfusionist, who kept the patient alive while on bypass by operating the heart lung machine, and monitored her vital signs such as blood pressure and oxygen levels.
Sister Marike Nunes the scrub nurse who was responsible for the surgical instruments and her team of four nurses who assisted in the operation. Before the operation she prepared the instruments and checked they were working. During the operation she handed these instruments to Dr van Zyl as he needed them, and kept one step ahead.
I was moved and humbled by the professional skill and knowledge on display and the extraordinary intuitive teamwork.
For four hours I was fed a great deal of detailed, technical information. But far from just passively watching and listening to these cardiac experts performing a life-saving operation, I was also able to ask questions and, crucially, to witness the natural theatre of medicine as it happened.
It has been a privilege to have been a part of this procedure.
Vergelegen Medi-Clinic is a special place... and I would also like to thank Mr Pieter Lotz the Hospital Manager and all his staff for all they do for our support group and we will be forever grateful. Pieter, please convey this to your personnel and consulting doctors.