Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Anil Kumar Bachoo, undertook a visit, yesterday to the Spine Unit of Victoria Hospital, to meet a team of visiting specialists from Denmark, who are currently carrying out highly complex spine surgeries in collaboration with Mauritian medical teams.
A total of 15 patients, including 11 children suffering from scoliosis – a condition that causes abnormal curvature of the spine – have recently been operated on by the Danish team. All patients are now recovering at the Spine Unit of Victoria Hospital. These surgical interventions have benefitted from the assistance of Professor Martin Gehrchen, Head of Spine Surgery at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
In a statement, Minister Bachoo recalled that scoliosis is a delicate condition that leads to deformation of the spine. “It is a great honour for us that a distinguished international specialist, together with our local experts, is performing these surgeries,” he said.
Also present, the Director of Victoria Hospital, Dr Rabindranath Jugessur, pointed out that Victoria Hospital serves as the national referral centre for scoliosis, where all Mauritian patients affected by the condition receive specialised treatment. He also highlighted that four Mauritian doctors from the local spine team have each benefited from one year of training in Denmark, enhancing national capacity to undertake such complex procedures.
Professor Gehrchen explained that the patients who are being treated present spinal deformities, and that the primary aim of the intervention is to halt the progression of the condition to prevent disability later in life. “During the restoration of the spine, we correct the curvature as much as possible so that patients can regain a straighter and healthier spine,” he said.
He further noted that this collaborative programme has been ongoing for more than ten years. “When we began, very few interventions were being carried out for adolescent scoliosis patients. It was at the initiative of the local surgeons that this journey started,” he remarked.
This long-standing partnership forms part of a broader capacity-building effort, with four Mauritian doctors now fully trained in Denmark and capable of performing complex spinal surgeries independently, thereby strengthening the country’s specialised healthcare services.
Minister Bachoo then proceeded to the New Cancer Centre in Phoenix to meet visiting oncology surgeons from Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, India, who are undertaking advanced cancer surgeries at the centre.
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