Ben Mboi Hospital Implements First Heart Surgery In NTT

KUPANG - Dr. Ben Mboi Kupang successfully carried out the first open heart surgery in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, which was carried out on a 26-year-old female patient.

The patient was diagnosed with Severe Mitral Valve Stenosis, Moderate Tricuspid Valve Regulation, and Pulmonary Hypertension.

Previously, operations like this could only be carried out in Surabaya or Jakarta. Now, sophisticated services like this already exist in NTT," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a statement from the Ministry of Health received in Jakarta, Antara, Sunday, December 22.

Every year, he said, around 7 thousand people from NTT are referred to Bali, Makassar, or Surabaya to get medical services such as heart care, stroke, and cancer.

With the presence of heart service facilities in NTT, he said, the number of referrals is projected to decrease to 3 thousand-4 thousand people per year. Therefore, he emphasized that the government will continue to improve access and quality of health services throughout Indonesia.

In addition to heart services, Budi also revealed plans to install sophisticated machines for the treatment of cancer in NTT next year. This step is to reduce the number of referrals for cancer patients, which are currently the second most referred to outside the region.

Not only from the facility side, he said, the Ministry of Health also continues to encourage the development of human resources in the health sector in the regions.

My note, what is most needed is doctors. Therefore, we want to prioritize regional children through providing scholarships for qualified ones so that they can return to serve their area," he said.

With the health transformation program initiated by the Ministry of Health, he said, the network of heart referral hospitals in Indonesia continues to be expanded.

Budi also appreciated the RSUP team Dr. Ben Mboi, the accompanying team from Prof. Dr. IGNG Ngoerah, and RSJPD Harapan Kita as national supervisors, for the successful implementation of this operation.

In the same statement, the Director of RSUP Dr. Ben Mboi dr. Annas Ahmad stated that the success of this operation was the first step in expanding specialist services at the hospital. Annas emphasized her commitment to providing equal health services for people in eastern Indonesia.

"Since the establishment of this hospital, we are committed to building equality from eastern Indonesia. Hopefully, the eastern community can feel a diagnosis and treatment equivalent to health care facilities in Jakarta," said dr. Annas.

He added that this success strengthened the commitment of Dr. Ben Mboi in confirming his role as a regional and international referral hospital. With this success, he said, NTT is the 25th province in Indonesia that is able to provide open heart surgery services.