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Dr Nigussie Bogale, an experienced interventional cardiologist, is one example that Ethio-American Doctors Group (EADG) members are not only from North America but from other parts of the world including Europe, where Dr. Nigussie resides.

Dr Nigussie currently serves as a Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. He is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and a member of the European Association of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (EAPCI).

Aside from his professional work abroad, Dr Nigussie has also made significant contributions in Ethiopia through his work as a member of the Norwegian cardiothoracic/cardiologist team that has been working at the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital since 2017.  Twice a year, he and the Norwegian team of doctors have been travelling to Ethiopia and they have been making contributions at Tikur Anbessa by treating patients and training a team of Ethiopian cardiologists in interventional and surgical procedures.

During one of their first travels, the team encountered a staff member of Tikur Anbessa, an anesthesiologist, admitted to the hospital for about a week with acute heart attack complicated with slow rhythm. Even if the set up was immature and in its early phase, it was decided to perform an angiogram, and hopefully open one closed coronary artery. During the procedure, it became apparent that the patient had actually blockage in all three major coronary arteries. In an ideal world, he should have had open-heart surgery with triple by-pass. The set up was not ready for by-pass surgery and the patient was not able to travel abroad. Dr Nigussie`s team performed a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with placement of stents with good results. Subsequent controls have showed that he is doing fine and free of chest pain.

As a result of the training and guidance Dr. Nigussie and his Norwegian colleagues provided, the interventional cardiology team at Tikur Anbessa is now able to perform procedures on their own given that they get access to proper equipment. Some acute procedures have been performed on patients with serious heart attacks in the absence of support from expatriates.

Dr Nigussie wants to continue giving back to Ethiopia in his chosen field. When asked why he became a member of EADG, he said, he has “always been looking for initiatives taken by my fellow country-men to give back something to the home land.” As a member of EADG, he gets to do just that!