Daniel Chintersingh, Gleaner Writer

Dr Gerald Lavandosky (left), a paediatric intensive-care doctor looks on as head nurse Eileen Watkins blows bubbles to cheer up young Xavier Lawla, who was one of 10 children recovering from heart surgery at the Intensive Care, Unit B, at the University Hospital of the West Indies, St Andrew, yesterday. The surgeries were carried out through the Florida-based Jamaica Children's Heart Fund. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

There is now renewed hope for 10 Jamaican children who were in need of open-heart surgeries.

Three teams from the Florida-based Jamaica Children's Heart Fund Inc are now on the island conducting the operations.

The team did its first two priority surgeries on Sunday.

Eighteen-month-old Dimoy Smith was one of the patients. His mother, Audrey Walker, from St Ann was overjoyed when she spoke with The Gleaner.

"I am very grateful for what they have done," Smith told The Gleaner yesterday.

Three other operations were scheduled for yesterday and another three for today.

The three Florida-based teams comprise four physicians, eight intensive-care-unit nurses, two operation nurses and a physician assistant.

The voluntary group was flown into the island courtesy of Air Jamaica, one of the newest sponsors of the programme.

This year's team is led by Dr Richard Perryman, director of cardiothoracic surgery and Dr Gerald Lavandosky from the Division of Paediatric Critical Care Medicine at the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida.

Numbers growing

Gwen Grant, executive director of the Jamaica Children's Heart Foundation, lamented that the list of screened children who require heart surgery was constantly growing and now stands at 350 cases.

She also said there was an excellent screening system that was constantly updated to ensure that children with the greatest need were given priority.

Since 1996, the Florida-based teams have successfully completed 126 heart surgeries.