Study: Surgery death rates in Africa twice global average

A team of doctors led by Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgeon, Dr. Premanand Ponoth perform an open heart surgery on a beneficiary of the NHIF Cardiac Programme at the Karen Hospital. Photo by WILLIS AWANDU

The risk of dying from scheduled surgery in Africa is more than double the global average, researchers said in a study shedding light on one of the continent's biggest but poorly investigated health care problems.

Patients who go under the knife in Africa in theory have a lower profile for risk than their counterparts elsewhere, as they tend to be younger and are more likely to be admitted for minor rather than major surgery, the investigators found.