Less than twelve hours after undergoing an open-heart surgery at the Providence Specialist Hospital in Accra, 61-year-old Anthony Ofori, is making remarkable progress, according to his Intensive Care Unit specialist.

The surgery, the first to be performed outside the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, replaced a damaged mitral valve with an artificial one to facilitate blood flow from his left atrium to the left ventricle.

Dr Ernest Ofosu Appiah, a Consultant Anaesthetist, and Head of the Intensive Care Unit, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra on Sunday, that the patient was in a stable condition, active and had begun feeding on fluid foods.

“We have observed that he is fast improving -he is no more on the ventilator, a machine that helps patients to breathe,” he said.

This was very impressive because others were usually weaned off the ventilator after about a week, he remarked.

With an infectious smile, Mr Ofori is said to have thanked God and the medical team for a successful surgery and prayed for complete healing.

Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, Ghana's foremost heart surgeon, led a team of 10, including Dr Appiah to perform the about four-hour surgery on Saturday.

Dr Baffoe Gyan, Professor Martin Tamatey, both Heart Surgeons, assisted Prof Frimpong-Boateng to perform the about four-surgery.

Also in the team were Mr Tito Nto, an Anaesthetist, Mr Roger Godson, a Clinical Perfusionist and four nurses.

Sharing his first moments when he came out of the surgery, Mr Ofori told the health care professionals that initially when he opened his eyes, he thought he was in his bed at home, but then he realised he could not move.

“....When I was told that I needed to undergo an open-heart surgery to become well, I was afraid. Some people even said they had seen a vision that I was dead. I nearly objected to the surgery,” he confessed.

“But after I had a conversation with Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the renowned Cardiothoracic Surgeon, I was convinced that all would well.”

Prof Frimpong-Boateng after performing the surgery told journalists that it was prudent to correct the condition when the risk was much lower to the patient, otherwise he could have suffered a heart failure, which would have rendered a surgery useless.

Mr Ofori had suffered the condition, which impeded the circulation of his blood and gave him palpitations, for about 20 years.