Medcare Hospital Sharjah performs UAE’s first pulmonary hypertension angioplasty procedure on a 44-year-old doctor

Medcare Hospital Sharjah has successfully performed the UAE’s first advanced Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty (BPA) for pulmonary hypertension on a 44-year-old woman who had spent more than a decade struggling with severe breathlessness caused by a rare and potentially life-threatening lung condition.

Dr AB Gopalamurugan, Structural Interventional Cardiologist at Medcare Hospital Sharjah, led the procedure marking a major step forward in the treatment of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH), a rare but potentially fatal condition that, until now, required patients in Dubai to seek care abroad.

For 11 years, the patient Sara Al Matari endured increasingly severe breathlessness due to chronic blood clots obstructing the arteries in her lungs, which put her heart under significant strain. Even after having a major open-heart surgery following her initial diagnosis and subsequently traveling to the UK for the highly regarded pulmonary thromboendarterectomy surgery, she still faced residual blockages that hindered her ability to carry out everyday tasks.

“I struggled while walking with my children, carrying out routine activities at home, and even performing my duties at work. I would become breathless with the smallest physical effort and often felt dependent on others to complete everyday tasks. After undergoing major surgery in the UK in 2017, there was some improvement, but I still needed further treatment to address the remaining blockages in my lungs. Until recently, that treatment was not available in the UAE,” she remarked.

Dr Shanila Laiju, Group CEO of Medcare Hospitals and Medical Centres, said, “The introduction of BPA at Medcare Hospital Sharjah expands treatment options for patients living with complex pulmonary hypertension. It reduces the need for high-risk surgeries and improves the patients’ quality of life as they had limited options within the UAE, previously.”

“We performed the BPA procedure, which has only been available at a limited number of locations worldwide earlier, using a catheter and a tiny balloon through a small access point in the leg to open the blocked pulmonary arteries. Despite multiple major interventions over several years, the patient continued to experience severe symptoms because of persistent narrowing in the smaller blood vessels of her lungs. Besides the patient being awake throughout her whole procedure, she was started walking within 24 hours and was discharged shortly,” added Dr. Gopalamurugan.

According to Dr Jishan Madathil, Chief Operating Officer at Medcare Hospitals Sharjah Cluster, “The significance of the case extends beyond a single patient outcome. Until now, patients often had to travel abroad to specialised centres in countries such as the UK or the U.S.A. to access this treatment. Having this specialised treatment option available here in the UAE means patients can receive advanced care closer to home, and it strengthens our ability to diagnose and manage complex pulmonary hypertension cases within the region.”

Speaking on her recovery, the patient said, “I am grateful to the entire medical team at Medcare, led by Dr Gopalamurugan, for the wonderful care. Everything went smoothly, and I felt supported throughout the process. While it will take a few more months to fully assess the long-term improvement, I can already feel a difference. Breathing has become easier, and I feel more optimistic about the future.”