Dr. Isaac Okyere (BSC MB ChB FWACS FGCS) Profile I am a Senior Lecturer: Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences (SMS), College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. I am the Foundation and current Head of the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit of the Department of Surgery. I am also the Foundation Head and Consultant Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon of the Directorate of Surgery of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana. I did established the Cardiovascular and Thoracic surgery clinic and practice in the Surgery Directorate of the Hospital and also started the first series of open heart surgeries and other cardiovascular and thoracic surgeries outside the National centre in the capital city of Accra.

The second of its kind in Ghana. On record to have performed the first open heart surgery in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana outside the capital city, Accra. I was kindly admitted by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as a foundation lecturer for cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at the Department of Surgery of the School of Medical Sciences. Currently the Vice-Chairman of the Ghana Chapter of the West African College of Surgeons. I am a Fellow of both the West African College of Surgeons and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. I have been an examiner in Surgery of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and an external examiner for surgery for the school of medical sciences of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. I am a Small-Boudreau Cardiac Surgery Scholar of the Boston Children’s Hospital, USA.

I had my BSC (Human Biology) and the MB ChB degrees at the School of Medical Sciences, KNUST in 1998 and 2001 respectively. Then underwent residency training in General Surgery of the West African Postgraduate Training at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and passed my Membership exams in General Surgery in 2006. Did a 6 months fellowship in General surgery at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital before going to the National Cardiothoracic Centre in Accra at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital under Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng under the West African Postgraduate Surgery Training Program, passing my final fellowship (FWACS) exams in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in May 2011. I underwent further elective training in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery in USA, UK, INDIA, CHINA, BELGIUM and South Africa before returning to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in 2014 to establish the first cardiovascular and thoracic surgery unit of the directorate of surgry.

My research interest includes cardiovascular and Thoracic surgery in developing countries and have published extensively in this area and presented papers extensively at international and national conferences collaborating with both local and international scholars. Married to Dr Perditer Okyere, Senior Lecturer: SMS-KNUST, Consultant Physician Specialist and Nephrologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi with three children.