Eleven year old Anne Souk from Cameroon suffered daily epileptic seizures for most of her life. When Anne was just 1 month old she contracted meningitis which completely damaged the left side of her brain resulting in chronic epilepsy. For years doctors adjusted her medication in the hope that they would reduce her seizures. Nothing worked. Desperate for a cure her parents turned to the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital. This extraordinary Hospital had the skill and equipment required to perform the intricate brain surgery that could heal Anne.

Because the seizures were originating throughout the whole of Anne's left brain, the only option was for neurosurgeons to disconnect and remove the left hemisphere of her brain. The operation was not without risk. Anne could emerge from surgery unable to speak, or understand speech, or move the right side of her body. However the experienced neurosurgeons at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital believed Anne was young enough for her functions to be transferred to the opposite side of her brain - a remarkable phenomenon sometimes seen in young children called 'plasticity'. It worked!

Doctors operated for more than five hours on Anne. After one and a half days in ICU and a lengthy rehabilitation process involving therapists for speech, psychological and physiological recovery, Anne is walking, talking and no longer has seizures!

Anne's operation took place in the Hospital's new upgraded Operating Theatre Complex using state-of-the-art computer technology called the Neuronavigation system that was purchased for the Hospital by Edcon Ltd. This intricate system allows neurosurgeons to guide or "navigate" within the confines of the skull or vertebral column during surgery. Neurosurgeons are now able to make difficult decisions during surgery with increased confidence and safety.

Anne has returned home to Cameroon with her mom where she is enjoying a full recovery. Doctors believe that there is a good chance that Anne may be completely cured of seizures in the long term. Anne spent much of her time, pre and post surgery, in the D1 Specialist Surgical Ward. Ward D1 currently handles approximately 180 admissions per month and is one of the areas that has not been upgraded since the Hospital was built in 1956. The Trust is committed to upgrading and equipping various priority areas in the Hospital but needs your ongoing support. Your generosity will make this project and others a reality. Please use the donation form included or donate online at www.childrenshospitaltrust.org.za.

Click here to learn more about the children whose lives have been changed by the staff at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.
 

Neurosurgeons from San Francisco, USA and Verona, Italy recently visited the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, to work alongside resident surgeons in the Hospital's new state-of-the-art Operating Theatre Complex. The group, consisting of world authorities on surgery for tethered spinal cords, travelled to South Africa to use the new advanced Neuro-monitoring system. The Neuromonitoring system may be used in conjunction with the dedicated Neuro and Spinal Theatre's Neuronavigation system, which was the system used during Anne Souk's successful operation.
This new advanced equipment at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital not only further improves positive, safer outcomes for little patients, but it catapults the Hospital onto an elite list of centres in the world that are able to utilise this highly complicated specialised monitoring system.

Read the latest news stories for more.
 

Premier Helen Zille uses an endoscope to view the inside of a green pepper. The new digital operating theatres together with a modern digital lecture facility will assist other African nations to develop and improve their paediatric surgical skills.
 

"The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital is more than a medical facility. It has come to symbolize the vision for what we can do as a society. The staff could have worked anywhere in the world, but they're here. The collective effort of financial donors and staff we've seen here today shows the world-class standard of healthcare on offer; not only to save the precious lives of South African and African children, but of children all over the world"

- Western Cape Premier
Helen Zille.

On 16 September 2009, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, addressed hundreds of guests at the grand opening of the new Operating Theatre Complex at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The celebration marked the culmination of a successful fundraising campaign by the Children's Hospital Trust to raise the R125million needed to build and equip the modern facility.

The new expanded state-of-the-art facility has increased the original four theatres to eight fully equipped operating theatres; three fully digitalised. The new digital installation is the first of its kind and sophistication in sub-Saharan Africa and is technically on par with the most advanced installations in the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

 

O.P.E.R.A.T.I.O.N. Theatre - Mission Accomplished

The Trust's ambitious fundraising campaign kicked off in 2005 with a R4million pledge from an international philanthropic organisation, The ELMA Foundation. This pledge was to be used to leverage matched funding and helped to secure funding from key donors including Raymond Ackerman, Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd, Engen Petroleum, The Harry Crossley Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Dutch Postcode Lottery, The Leycester Walton Family Trust, Knorr-Bremse Global Care, Netcare and Edcon Ltd. The Pola Pasvolsky Charitable & Educational Trust funded the upgrade of a modern digital lecture facility. In August 2006 the Trust launched O.P.E.R.A.T.I.O.N. Theatre. This high profile fundraising campaign, in partnership with the Cape Argus, encouraged the South African public to help raise the final R10million needed to start building Phase One of the project. Of the total building cost of R70million, the Provincial Government of the Western Cape contributed R8.5million towards building a new Central Processing Department (CPD) where surgical instruments are sterilised, pre-packed and stored. The price tag for equipment including capital equipment, digital, fine instruments and CPD equipment totalled R55million.

Find out about the special projects we are currently raising funds for.

The name of the new operating wing is "The Lolo Wing - Surgical Centre of Excellence for Children - Proudly supported by the Dutch Postcode Lottery". The name Lolo is an African term of endearment given to young children and the mascot of the Children's Hospital Trust.
 

A Paediatric Surgical Skills Training Centre will be developed at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital to serve the region and the continent. With the upgrade and equipping of the new Operating Theatre Complex at the Hospital, surgeons now need to master the use of increasingly sophisticated technology and equipment. The skills that need to be learnt cannot always be acquired safely in a live surgery setting.

There are currently no dedicated endoscopic surgical training centres in sub-Saharan Africa forcing African specialists and surgeons to travel

  

to Europe or the U.S. to train in endoscopic surgery. Minimally Invasive Surgery is being recognised worldwide as improving patient outcomes, minimizing pain and improving the surgical experience for the patient.

The Children's Hospital Trust aims to raise R10.6million to build and renovate this facility. Karl Storz, a German manufacturer of endoscopic equipment, has pledged the additional R10million required to equip the facility with digital equipment. By supporting the Trust with this project you will impact paediatric care across Africa.

Make a real difference in the lives of sick children by making a donation to the Children's Hospital Trust.
 

By giving a bequest to the Children's Hospital Trust, you assist the Hospital in giving sick children a fighting chance. Contact Liz Linsell at liz.linsell@chtrust.org.za or +21 21 659 1781 if you would like to include the Children's Hospital Trust in your Will.
 

Please visit our website at www.childrenshospitaltrust.org.za for news and information on upcoming events and exciting new projects. You can also subscribe to our online eNewsletter and receive the latest news and developments at the Hospital.
 

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