Tag Archives: open heart

Introduction Open-heart surgery is gradually gaining recognition in Nigeria following the first open-heart surgery carried out at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu in 1974.1 For a long time, UNTH remained the only centre in Nigeria carrying out open-heart surgery.2 However, more patients requiring these surgeries are now being operated on with the emergence of new cardiac centres.3 Open-heart surgery is a major surgical procedure that requires intensive monitoring pre-operatively, intra-operatively and postoperatively. It, thus, requires team work with various professionals. Laboratory personnel form an essential arm