Every year Belizeans spend tens of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions, on costly but life saving brain surgery procedures performed abroad. In fact we probably don't need to tell you because many of those pleas for help are made right here on Channel 7. Well now those same delicate surgical procedures can be performed right here in Belize for only a couple hundred dollars. That is because the Karl Heusner Hospital now has two full-time neurosurgeons on staff. They are doctors Joel Cervantes and Giovanni Lara. The doctors are working with Dr. Thomas Mechalic from Maine to set up a Neuro-surgery Unit at the KHMH. Dr. Mehalic says the new department will be the difference between life and death.
Dr. Thomas Mechalic,
"Suppose you are a young ten year old boy riding a bicycle in Belize City and you get hit by a car. You sustain a skull fracture and these neurosurgeons are able to immediately attend to that young boy, if necessary do a CAT Scan to the brain to make sure there is no bleeding, and if there has been bleeding that would endanger the patient's life, that bleeding could be removed promptly. Now if you would wait and have to transfer this patient out of the country, that poor ten year old boy could die before he could be treated by a neurosurgeon. So there's the value on just a simple accident prevention everyday case in any city in the world. That is why the development of this neuro-surgical department is very important just for everyday emergency care."
Dr. Joel Cervantes, Neurosurgeon - KHMH
"I think my presence is a small part of what the whole institution is trying to give, which is firsthand high quality health care. And as neurosurgeons, we are here to work as a team along with my colleague Dr. Lara and of course with all the other specialists and all the medical personnel who work at this institution, the Karl Heusner. When it comes to neuro-trauma, people who have been injured, have some lesion in the brain or spine as such, we can take care of that on an immediate basis and obviously we do elective neuro-surgery both at brain level, the spine, and peripheral nerve injuries. So this means planned surgeries that people won't have to go outside to Mexico, Guatemala, or the USA to get. With what we have right now we can do a lot of neuro-surgical procedures and we are certain in the not too distant future we'll be able to do more."
Dr. Mechalic has brought US$11,000 in equipment in surgery equipment along with literature. Accommodations for him and his wife are being provided by the Rotary Club of Belize. We should note that Dr. Joel Cervantes is the first Belizean born neurosurgeon to practice in Belize. Dr. Cervantes studied for about a total of 14 years.
