Doctors at heart, doctors ready to impart
Wolmer’s, Campion College old boys set up rare cardiovascular disease practice
Imagine a scenario in which Jamaicans suffering from cardiovascular diseases — the number one cause of death here — are no longer forced to travel overseas, usually at great expense and often away from loved ones at a time of great stress and trauma.
It’s a dream shared by two Jamaican heart specialists — one an old boy of Wolmer’s Boys’ School and the other of Campion College — who, if they realise their ambition, will establish their fledgling Partners Interventional Centre of Jamaica (PICJ) Limited as the heart hospital of choice in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
“Think of the possibilities where no matter what the heart complication is, it can be treated right here in Jamaica. That is what the interventional centre will offer,” said Dr Shaun Smithson, who was brought on board by Dr Victor Elliott after he and consultant cardiologist Dr Conville Brown established the PICJ three years ago at the Medical Associates Hospital complex in Kingston.
“In Jamaica, there is literally only a handful of cardiologists who specialise in the interventional methodology and practice,” added Dr Elliott. “To meet the medical needs of heart patients who suffer from simple to complex cardiovasclar diseases here, it would require partnerships and collaborations with other doctors who specialise in the interventional arena.”
He noted that cardiovascular intervention cuts out the need to do open-heart surgery, and eliminated weeks of hospitalisation.
Dr Smithson felt that the time is now for local experts and specialist overseas to have these types of collaborations that would make the medical world more accessible to Jamaicans.
The idea of an interventional centre for heart diseases suggested itself after statistics from the health ministry showed that cardiovascular diseases (CVDS) are the number one cause of death in Jamaica, and accounted for a stunning 32 per cent of deaths among non-communicable diseases in 2012.
CVDS are caused by several of factors including lifestyle choices such as unhealthy eating, smoking, lack of exercising and simple genetics, that is, being born with an abnormal heart.
Dr Smithson, a past student of St Andrew Preparatory and
Campion College, and Dr Elliott met by coincidence. Smithson was finishing up his medical residency with the Houston Methodist hospital in Texas in 2014, and on one of his annual Christmas visits home, went to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) to see where he could provide some assistance, being the consummate patriot. He is currently practising cardiovascular intervention at the Miami-dade Cardiology Consultants in Florida.
He introduced himself to the UHWI medical staff who greeted him with some scepticism, wanting to see his credentials but having been satisfied in the end, pointed him to the only interventional cardiologist on staff at that time, one Dr Victor Elliott.
The two hit it off immediately and developed a close professional relationship and social bond.
Dr Elliott, an old boy and past teacher of the Wolmer’s Boys’ school, is a University of the West Indies (UWI) graduate in the field of chemistry, and an international medical trainee in the area of cardiology at the University of Toronto. For his part, he was quite impressed with Dr Smithson’s medical papers, his in-depth knowledge, advanced diagnostic and technical skills and overall willingness to give back to Jamaica.
The two had their first of four collaborations in November this year, their latest being on December 12 when Smithson flew into the island to perform a procedure before leaving the very next day. He reiterated that he wanted to give back to his country and reserving time to do these procedures is a way for him to do so.
Speaking of the successful procedure they had performed earlier that day, Dr Elliot said the patient was 15-year- old Yone Williams Jr, a student of the Manchester High School and an aspiring footballer who had a hole in his heart first discovered three years prior. Having a hole in the heart presents with symptoms such as: shortness of breath, fatigue and, in some instances, can lead to stroke.
Yone’s elated parents —Yone Williams Sr and Antoinette Bogle — expressed their confidence in Dr Smithson and Dr Elliot. They spoke about their professionalism, the informative conversations had, and, of course, the extra savings. At Observer press time, Yone was at home already recovering well, Smithson said.
“Our long-term goal is easy; we want to make PICJ a world-class cardiac centre. Whether it is viewing patients, doing diagnostic testing or interventional therapy and procedure,” stated Dr Elliot. “We want to be able to acquire all state-of-the-art equipment needed to perform these intricate procedures, as well as training doctors, nurses and technicians on how to prepare patients, monitor them during and after procedures, and knowing what complications to look for.”
PICJ currently offers treatment for heart attacks, ischemic heart disease, and electrophysiology for irregular heart beats.
Their theme is “Doctors at heart, doctors ready to impart, doctors in need, doctors indeed”.