Aga Khan Hospital Gets Equipment Worth Sh4m

The East African Standard (Nairobi)

January 1, 2002
Posted to the web January 2, 2002


The Aga Khan Hospital-Nairobi has received laparascopic (minimal invasive) surgery equipment worth Sh4 million from Johnson and Johnson through Philips Pharmaceuticals Limited.

The donation consisted of two imaging systems, two laparascopic abdominal training devices and surgical instruments.

These items will be used in the Dry Lab training centre, a facility the hospital is establishing for use by doctors in East and Central Africa to learn and improve laparascopic surgery skills in as realistic circumstances as possible. Minimal invasive surgery eliminates the need for large incisions and instead laparascopes (pencil thin instruments) are used.

Receiving the donation, Ian Cripwell, the chief executive officer of the Aga Khan Hospital, said: "We are grateful to Johnson and Johnson for his generous donation and confidence in this hospital. The future of surgery in many areas lies in the laparascopic technique and it is a priority to train surgeons as we are committed to providing state-of-the-art services and the best value for money."

Ross Saunders, the international business manager at Johnson and Johnson said: "We are pleased to be involved in the development of laparascopic surgery in this region. Our co-operation with Aga Khan Hospital to develop a training facility is an interdependent partnership, and we look forward to working together on similar initiatives in the future."

An increasing number of patients are opting for laparascopic surgery as it has several advantages over the open method. The overall risk to the patient is significantly reduced.


Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200201020045.html