20th Aniversary Footprints of Heart Saving Project’s Activity PART.3(Final)
2/10/2022
Twenty years has passed since Dr. Noriyuki Haneda, Dr. Kenji Kuroe, and Mr. Hiroshi Yano visited Mongolia for the first time to treat pediatric cardiovascular patients on October 3rd, 2001. To commemorate this, on October 3, 2021, the “20th Anniversary Online Event” was held, and Dr. Noriyuki Haneda gave a commemorative lecture. Let us introduce this lecture in three parts.
In the 3rd installment, we will tell you about the treatment activities in Mongolia from 2015 to 2019 and the external evaluation of the achievements so far.
2015 Started catether in National Maternal and Child Health Center of Mongolia
The new cath lab was established at the NCMCH in autumn, 2014, while we began to scrub with Mongolian doctors at the NCMCH from May, 2015. Pictures show the cath lab and its monitoring room, while Dr Bayarmaa, myself, and Dr Kataoka scrubbed.
We experienced progress equivalent to 50 years in only 15 year, that is from no cath lab to establishment of the latest cath lab.
We completed 500 cases of cath in this visit. The center is the 500 anniversary patient.
Transcatheter ASD closure was started in December, 2016.
This picture was August 2019, when Dr Nakagawa was teaching transesophageal echo to Mongolian doctors in the cath lab.
Result by the end of 2019
This slide shows the number of cath and the procedure details. The total number of cath was 810 sessions, while the therapeutic catheterizations were 676 sessions for 668 patients. The therapeutic catheterizations include, PDA closure, 539 patients; Percutaneous pulmonary valvuloplasty, 77 sessions for 75 patients; Percutaneous angioplasty for coarctation of aorta, 15 sessions for 9 patients; abandoned intended therapeutic catheterization, 21 patients; diagnostic catheterizations for 113 patients. Transesophageal echo for ASD without cath includes 15 patients.
Regions where we visited for the screening of childhood heart diseases were plotted on the map of Mongolia. From 2003 to 2019, we screened 6920 children, visited 34 cities, in 60 workdays.
Meeting with goverment officials, awards, etc.
At the reception in Akasaka Price Hotel in 4th December, 2003, Myself and Dr Tomita reported our activity in Mongolia to President Bagabandii who officially visited JAPAN.
I received the North Star Award in 27th March, 2006 from the Prime Minister Mongolia at the Hotel New Otani. Up to now several members from the HSP received the same award.
I received the title of professor emeritus of the NCMCH, while its award ceremony was held 2nd May, 2013 at the NCMCH. The president of the NCMCH gave me the certificate and costume for the professor emeritus. Dr Bolormaa and the director of the children’s hospital attended the ceremony as well.
HSP received the Foreign Minister’s Commendation JAPAN, while the awards ceremony was held at the Iiikura Guest House in 31st July, 2013. We, myself, Dr Tomita and Higaki, took a commemorative photo with the minister of foreign Affairs, Mr Fumio Kishida, who is cuurently Japanese prime minister.
In May, 2019, myself and Dr Tomita made a courtesy call on the President Battulga at the official residence.
In August, 2019, retired 70th Yokozuna, Harumafuji visited the NCMCH.
Conclusions
Subsequently,I resigned from the President of HSP, and now President Emeritus. The president of the HSP is now Dr Tomita, while the vice-president is Dr Higaki.
From now on, I suppose, my role in HSP is donation and fund raising. I appreciate a lot of people, especially HSP members, staffs of Mongolia, and my friends for cooperation and support for such a long 20 years.
In the 25th anniversary of HSP in 2026, my age will be 75 years, called as “the latter-stage elderly” in Japan. At that time, my career as a pediatrician will become 50 years (half century), while I will be involved in the HSP for 25 years (quarter century), which is the half of my carrier as a pediatrician. Then, I am going to completely retire from practitioner, turning my clinic to my son, pediatric-allergic doctor. I hope to re-visit Mongolia several times to see further development of pediatric cardiology in Mongolia, should there be no recurrence in my coronary stenosis, supported by someone to my hearing problem.
I believe activities of the HSP will further grow by the new system managed by Dr Tomita, Higaki, and the board of directors.
Thank you for your attention.