Nigeria Open Heart Surgery Registry

Dr Bode Falase is a consultant and an associate professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. Dr Falase earned his MB and BS, as well as conducted his surgery residency, at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. He completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency in Wales, United Kingdom, at Morriston Hospital Swansea and University Hospital of Wales Cardiff. After receiving the Intercollegiate Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dr Falase returned to Nigeria in 2006 to take up practice at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. He has continued to practice in Lagos, apart from a one-year return in 2015 as a specialist registrar at the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Dr Falase’s research focuses on the development of modern cardiothoracic surgery services in Nigeria, especially open heart surgery. His clinical interests include adult cardiac surgery, pacemaker implantation, VATS, and esophageal stenting. Dr. Falase is actively involved in the development of online registries of cardiothoracic surgery clinical activity in Nigeria, which are aimed at developing evidence-based practices. He has developed registries for the Cardiothoracic Division in LASUTH  as well as for the Nigeria Heart Registry. Dr Falase is the past president of the Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Nigeria (ACTSON).

On a personal note, Dr Falase is a golfer with a handicap of 10, but he emphasizes that he is working on getting back to a single handicap!

Catherine Marcic Joyce for CTSNet:

CTSNet: You started your cardiothoracic surgery residency in Nigeria and then went on to complete your residency in Wales, United Kingdom. What was the most interesting or valuable aspect of pursuing training in a different country?

Bode Falase: I left to restart my cardiothoracic residency in the UK. I made an assessment considering the exposure obtainable at that time that I could not complete my residency training in Nigeria and be well versed in all aspects of cardiothoracic practice. Structured exposure to open-heart surgery was absent at the time. This was my main reason for going to the UK.

The most valuable aspect for me having trained in the UK was getting trained to a high standard, such that I could aspire to return home and help to develop a modern cardiothoracic practice in LASUTH. It has been a long journey, but I am convinced I made the right choices, both for training abroad and returning home to practice. Following my training in the UK, if I had stayed there to practice, I would be one of many surgeons practicing abroad. By returning home, I am one of a few UK-trained surgeons practicing in Nigeria. This has empowered me to drive development in my specialty.

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