10 September 2018 - First Open-Heart Surgeries
This long-standing project results from an exemplary combination of energy and skills. Mrs Festoc made a major donation, thus giving La Chaîne de l’Espoir the means to build and equip this new heart centre dedicated to the memory of her late husband. Equipped in compliance with European standards, it is a reference centre for Mali and as such it will contribute to the surgical treatment of children with heart conditions, who until now were transferred, unfortunately in too small numbers, to France.
Mrs Festoc made a major donation, thus giving La Chaîne de l’Espoir the means to build and equip this new heart centre dedicated to the memory of her late husband. André Festoc, who supported the actions of La Chaîne de l’Espoir, wanted efforts of a lifetime to contribute to bridge the medical gap between continents. He knew that in some poor countries, it is still a terrible fate to be born with a heart defect.
Mrs Festoc was present in Mali to see what her donation has contributed to achieve and witness the first surgeries on the children selected by Pr. Diarra and his team.
The Malian surgical team was trained at La Rabta Teaching Hospital in Tunis and at the Cuomo Centre in Dakar. It operate at the André Festoc Centre assisted by a French medical teams.
Fanta was operated on : a first at the André Festoc Centre
Fanta, 6 years old, was born with an atrial septal defect. The little girl was on Professor Diarra’s list and was selected during the consultation of Professors Mamadou Diarra and Olivier Baron, that took place on the day before her operation.
Fanta’s surgery is a real turning point for Mali. It is a first surgery for Mali, carried out in the brand new André Festoc Centre dedicated to cardiology and paediatrics, inside the Luxembourg Mother-Child Hospital in Bamako.
Our congratulations go to the entire team in Bamako for such a magnificent success story, and to this courageous little girl !
