The first heart catheteriziation in the new cath lab of Ayder hospital in December 2015

The first heart cathetriziation in the new cath lab of Ayder hospital was a right heart catheterization with pulmonary angiography in a patient with pulmonary hypertension of unknown origin. It performed in December 2015.

The aim was beside the medical aspects to test the function of the many technical systems that have to cooperate in such a high tech system like a cath lab.

It was done by the in 2015 in Italy trained head of the Ayder cath lab, the Ethiopian cardiologist Dr. Abaha Hailu Waldegrima, and the German interventional cardiologist Dr. Christian Leuner from Etiopia-Witten, living in Bielefeld Germany with the female Ethiopian cath lab nurse Takle Haile Michael at the cath lab table

 

 

and the German cardiologist Dr. Norbert Scheffold from Memmingen with the Ethiopian cath lab nurse Selamawit Gebru in the control room.

 

The procedure could be smoothely and without any major technical problems done.

The first cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) in Ayder Referral Hospital of the University of Mekelle has been procured by the Ethiopian Ministry of Education in July, 2013. The aim was beside the medical aspects to test the function of the many technical systems that have to cooperate in such a high tech system like a cath lab.

Because no physicians with training in performing cardiac catheters where available for Ayder Hospital and so far no modern digitized cardiac catheterization laboratories have been established in Ethiopia, it was necessary to involve experienced cardiologists from abroad.