GPHC performs 1st open-heart surgery on child

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), in collaboration with Gift of Life International, has successfully performed Guyana’s first Fontan procedure (open-heart surgery), marking a major milestone in paediatric cardiac care and offering renewed hope to children born with complex congenital heart defects.
The life-changing surgery was performed on Miracle Whoseley, a child diagnosed before birth with a single-ventricle heart defect, a serious condition in which only one of the heart’s pumping chambers functions properly.
According to Miracle’s mother, Mindy Ames-Whoseley, in an interview with officials at GPHC, the diagnosis came while she was six months pregnant after tests conducted at Woodlands Hospital.
“She was diagnosed when she was a six-month fetus in my womb by Dr Sarah at Woodlands Hospital. I gave birth to her at Georgetown Public Hospital,” Ames-Whoseley explained.

She said after Miracle’s birth, doctors confirmed the diagnosis, and the family had to carefully monitor and limit the child’s physical activity during her early years.
“Her father and I limited her from doing certain things like creeping, getting up, and trying to walk because we didn’t want anything to go wrong with her at that time,” she recalled.
At nine months old, Miracle’s family received a call from GPHC informing them that an overseas paediatric cardiac team, known as Baby Heart, would be visiting Guyana. After several examinations, doctors determined that Miracle qualified for surgery.
Ames-Whoseley said Miracle first underwent a Glenn shunt procedure performed by paediatric cardiac surgeon Dr Rodrigo Soto.
Despite her condition, Miracle continued to push herself and participate in activities as much as possible, although her low oxygen levels made physical exertion difficult.
“She wasn’t able to take part in certain school activities like running because she would get tired because of the oxygen level. Her lungs were not getting enough oxygen,” her mother said.
The recent Fontan surgery, however, is expected to significantly improve Miracle’s oxygen levels and overall quality of life.
“This here is going to make life easier for her. She would be able to participate now in running and those activities that she never really had an opportunity to,” Ames-Whoseley stated.
Pediatric cardiac surgeon and medical consultant with Gift of Life International, Rodrigo Soto, described the surgery as a historic breakthrough for Guyana’s healthcare system.
“On this trip, which is our ninth trip since 2023, we did the first Fontan procedure,” Soto said.
He explained that the Fontan procedure is a palliative surgery used in patients born with a single functioning ventricle.
“For a long time, single ventricle patients were assumed to have no pathway or there was no hope. However, since we’ve been here, we have been doing palliation of single ventricles,” Soto noted.
He added that the successful completion of the Fontan procedure represents the final major stage in treatment for this type of congenital heart disease.
“In this trip, we were able to perform eight open-heart surgeries, from patients that have ventricular septal defects to palliation of single ventricles with the Fontan,” he said.
Soto credited the accomplishment to the ongoing partnership between GPHC and Gift of Life International, which has been operating in Guyana since 2023.
“The Gift of Life International team is comprised of different disciplines from anaesthesia, perfusion, surgery, scrub nurses, intensive care, cardiologists, ICU nurses, respiratory therapists, echocardiographers and so on,” he explained.
He said the collaboration has led to significant improvements in paediatric cardiac care locally and has allowed more Guyanese children to access life-saving surgeries without leaving the country.
“During that time, we have seen certainly an improvement in cardiac care and in paediatric cardiac care at GPHC,” Soto said.
He further expressed hope that, in the future, a fully Guyanese medical team would be able to independently provide specialised paediatric cardiac care.
“With the aim that at some point, hopefully not long in the future, some complete Guyanese team will be able to take care of the children without the need of a visiting team,” Soto added.
Meanwhile, Ames-Whoseley expressed gratitude to the doctors, Gift of Life International and the Government of Guyana for making the surgery possible.
“I would like to acknowledge the Baby Heart team for bringing the team to Guyana not only to perform miracle surgery but also to perform surgeries on the other children,” she said.