Global Health Asia-Pacific September 2020 September 2020 | Page 67

able to carry out the procedure on babies weighing as low
as 1000 gram. “We’ve performed this device closure of
PDA on 10 patients so far, and they’re all doing well with
our follow-up care,” he says.
This year meanwhile, doctors at PCHC will carry out
Malaysia’s first established and approved percutaneous
pulmonary valve implantation, which is the replacement
of the pulmonary valve via catheterisation through the
femoral vein. “This procedure is usually done to correct
the leaking in the pulmonary valve on the right side of the
heart.
Before this, patients will have to undergo surgery to
have this valve replaced; but now we can implant the device
via transcatheter procedure,” explains Dr Marhisham.
Even though the procedure has been postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, it will take place at the sooner date.
Prioritising long-term outcomes
He adds that as congenital heart patients tend to require
repeated interventions and treatment, the advancement
of non-invasive procedures can help minimising the need
for surgery. ”That’s why we’re very keen on introducing
more minimally invasive procedures,” he says. “We want
our patients to have a good quality of life, without having
to undergo multiple heart surgeries to achieve this goal.”
In this respect, the PCHC measures its success by the
overall care it offers congenital heart patients throughout
their lives. While the centre has established itself as
a regional leader in treating complex heart diseases and
non-surgical interventions.
“We can’t just look at the number of complex procedures
we’ve done and just leave it at that – follow-up care
is key,” says Dr Marhisham. “One of the biggest challenge
is patients with complex congenital heart disease have to
face their condition into adulthood. Some may struggle
with employment, pregnancy, and even other health
complications. That’s why it’s so important to have adult
congenital heart disease specialist, so that these patients
can get the tailored care that they need.”
The centre also offers emotional support to patients,
parents and caregivers of patients through Nadi PCHC,
a support group comprising IJN clinical staff alongside
parents, volunteers, psychologists and counsellors. Dr
Marhisham says while doctors do their best to counsel
patients or parents, the support group was important to
give patients and caregivers a sense of community. “It’s a
voluntary effort, and our doctors, nurses, dietitians, and
physiotherapists are also part of the group. But most of
the time, patients and their caregivers feel more comfortable
taking about their struggles with others who have been
through the same experience,” he says.
The centre will also be upgrading its facilities as part of
IJN’s expansion plan, which is scheduled to be completed
in 2022. Dr Marhisham is confident that this will make
the PCHC environment even more conducive for patients,
especially given the centre’s workload - in 2019 alone, the
PCHC saw a total of 15,212 patients. “IJN as a whole takes a
patient-centric approach to medical care, and this includes
enhancing the experience patients have at the hospital
itself,” he adds.
Dr Marhisham
Che Mood
Head and Consultant
Paediatric
Cardiologist
of Paediatric &
Congenital Heart
Centre (PCHC)
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific.com
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020
65