A medical team in Sharjah’s Al Qasimi Hospital successfully completed on Monday, June 22, a pioneering surgery implanting a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) on a 21-year-old Emirati patient.
The surgery is the first-of-its-kind in the UAE. Doctors announced the procedure a success on Thursday.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted his congratulations.
“I congratulate the Ministry of Health’s medical team on this successful surgery. It is the first artificial heart transplant in the UAE and it saved the life of a 21 year old Emirati.”
The patient is a student at the University of Sharjah, and was transferred to Al Qasimi Hospital on June 11 due to severe weakness in the heart muscle, a heart ejection fraction that went below 10 per cent, as well as kidney and liver failure.
The patient was bedridden in the hospital for the past three weeks.
With the successful bioprosthetic heart implant, blood from the left ventricle enters the LVAD, which then pumps the blood into the aorta (to the rest of the body).
The device has a cable connected to a battery-powered control unit which allows the patient to be fully mobile.
The Minister of Health, Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, commended the team’s achievement and thanked His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai for his inspiring vision and continuous support.
“Completing the first artificial heart surgery in the UAE and, most importantly, saving a young Emirati’s life is a great success that we take pride in,” said Al Owais.
“We were able to accomplish this great achievement because of Shaikh Mohammad. Having a leader who recognises the effort of his people is a motivation for any person to succeed in what he is doing. It is one of the most important contributors to the development of the UAE,” he said.
Dr Aref Al Nooriani, executive director of the cardiology department at Al Qasimi Hospital, said upon the patient’s arrival at the hospital, it was clear that the team was facing a race against time to save his life.
He added that the patient regained consciousness 48 hours following the surgery, and looks to be gradually recovering.
