The team is based out of Vaiola Hospital in Nuku'alofa and have a variety of focuses for the mission. Cardiac Physiologist and Team Lead for the deployment, Dr Fiona Riddell, says the team looks forward to carrying out the work, after disruptions from Covid-19 had put a halt on pacemaker clinics in Tonga.
"In 2018 we undertook the first pacemaker operations, however these were only replacements as we knew in advance that Tonga did not have a functioning portable image intensifier at the time, which is the X-Ray required in theatre to guide the placement of the pacemaker leads in the heart.
"We held a clinic in December 2022 and identified patients who needed pacemaker replacements; they were reprogrammed to maximise the battery life until we could return to replace the pacemakers, which is a key purpose for our trip."
Ms Riddell reiterates the importance of the trip to assess all patients with pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD).
"There are 36 known patients in Tonga with a pacemaker or ICD that required annual check-ups with specialised pacemaker equipment. The exact number of patients who require a pacemaker implant is unknown but the local team have identified 8 patients and are still trying to locate any older cases.
"We will also be assessing any patients referred for a new pacemaker implant and to implant a pacemaker into all patients we can within the constraints of our operating time and our consumables. The implantation of new pacemakers will be a first in Tonga as the previous surgery in 2018 was only to replace pacemakers."
The NZMTS covers six island nations; Fiji, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and Vanuatu. PMA CEO, Debbie Sorensen, says this is the first of many deployments under the NZMTS.
"Over the past few months, our team has travelled to the participating nations under the NZMTS and we've been liaising with them around their needs. This was a great opportunity to connect around how we can provide specific support under the NZMTS, such as organising visiting medical specialist teams, as the case is with this deployment to Tonga.
"It's fantastic to get the ball rolling and we look forward to continuing our engagement with the six island countries as we provide support under the scheme."
Head of Medicine at Vaiola Hospital, Dr Sione Talanoa Latu, expresses his gratitude to PMA for the deployment of the NZMTS team.
"We're grateful for our partnership with PMA and are pleased to be working closely with the NZMTS team. This is an opportunity for us to discuss the long term plan for pacemaker services as well as take on any learnings from the depth of knowledge and experience of the NZMTS Cardiology team."