The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) has performed free surgery for about 30 patients including children with various Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) conditions.

It was an exciting moment as patients with chronically discharging ears and defects in their tympanic membrane had their hearing restored while others with difficulty in breathing through the nostrils were also corrected.

Key among them was a four month old baby who was born without a hole in her nose and had to breathe through her mouth, was successfully operated on to breathe through her nostrils.

The week-long annual outreach programme is a collaborative gesture between the hospital and a team of doctors from the University of Uttah in the United States of America.

The team, led by Professor Jeremy Meier, a Pediatrician and an ENT surgeon was made up of ENT specialists, anesthesiologist and general surgeons.

Dr Peter Appiah Thomson, Head of the ENT Unit at CCTH indicated that ENT surgeries were usually very expensive, which cost between $50 to $200,000 which many Ghanaian patients could not afford.

He said CCTH had for the past six years collaborated with the University of Utah where ENT specialist, anesthesiologist and other general surgeons visit to offer complex ENT surgeries.

He said the hospital during the exercise, performed surgeries that ordinarily, resources were not available for the patients.

Dr Thompson expressed excitement about the exercise and said the team would also help develop the skills of staff to be able to solve such complex problems in future.

He said 15 ENT trainee nurses, four doctors from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and various category of students from across the country were working with the team to improve their skills and techniques in ENT surgery.

He expressed the hope that the collaboration would go a long way to attract more ENT specialists to the hospital as he remained the only ENT specialist at the facility.

Dr Thompson encouraged mothers to vaccinate their new born babies and send their children to the ENT unit when they noticed any problem with their ear, nose or throat for early treatment.

A member of the team, Dr Ryan Meier said the University hoped to tighten the collaboration to make surgery safer at the CCTH while assuring the hospital of their continued support to build on the knowledge of the anesthetist and improve their skills for better delivery at the facility.

He said as part of their outreach, they had supplied various medical equipment to improve upon health care delivery at the hospital.

Dr Eric Kofi Ngyedu, Chief Executive Officer of CCTH described the partnership as one that augmented the service delivery of the hospital and as well offered opportunity for transfer of skills and technology.

He added that it would also be an opportunity for residents and doctors to learn high level technique in ENT surgery and to build their knowledge and skills.

He said as part of the partnership, a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between the hospital and University of Utah to augment the collaboration to include laparoscopy surgery training.

Dr Ngyedu said CCTH as part of its five year strategic plan hoped to become a centre for the training of ENT surgeons in Ghana.