Key result
In-house pediatric cardiothoracic surgery program in Rwanda achieves a ~2% mortality rate.
Why the study?
Cardiovascular diseases pose a significant health challenge in low- and middle-income countries including Rwanda, necessitating the establishment of a sustainable cardiothoracic surgery program.
Highlights the strategic priorities and collaborative efforts required to establish a sustainable cardiothoracic surgery program in Rwanda.
Supports feasibility of in-house pediatric cardiac programs in low-resource settings; leaves open scalability and long-term durability.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) pose a significant health challenge worldwide, particularly in low-and middle-income countries, including Rwanda. A National Cardiothoracic Surgery Symposium was held on February 23, 2024, in Kigali, Rwanda. Bringing together key stakeholders and experts in the field, the Symposium focused on the establishment of a sustainable cardiothoracic surgery program in Rwanda. The Symposium discussed current surgical outcomes, program sustainability, early diagnosis and follow-up strategies, and the development of a cardiovascular disease research agenda. The Symposium highlighted the progress made in identifying and managing cardiac diseases in populations of all age groups and at all levels of service delivery in Rwanda. The Symposium concluded that Rwanda would continue to bridge knowledge gaps through education and training programs, enhance national and international multidisciplinary collaboration to meet the cardiac healthcare needs of its populations and develop a robust research agenda for informed policy planning.
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Ejigu et al. (2025) studied Cardiovascular Diseases. In-house cardiothoracic surgery program vs. Visiting surgical missions (historical) was evaluated on Pediatric cardiac surgery mortality rate. The establishment of a sustainable in-house cardiothoracic surgery program in Rwanda facilitated 206 pediatric cardiac procedures over 18 months with a mortality rate of 1.9%.
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