Rare surgery for rare condition

Doctors at Dubai Hospital carried out a first-of-its-kind open-heart surgery on a nine-year-old boy who was born with a single ventricle in his heart. Mahmoud Al Ammari, a Class II student from Yemen, became the first patient to undergo the complex "Fontan operation" to regulate the supply of oxygen in his body, Dr Obaid Al Jasem, consultant cardiac surgeon and Head of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at Dubai Hospital, said. "This is a very rare surgery with the congenital heart condition present in less than one per cent of the population." During the five-hour surgery, doctors fixed the birth defect by separating the non-oxidised blood from the oxidised blood resulting from the boy having just the left ventricle. He was put on an artificial respiratory system with medication. The free operation, which was conducted along with a visiting Italian medical team, is part of a humanitarian initiative by the Dubai Health Authority in co-operation with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment. "Over 20 children with heart defects are being covered over 10 days," said Dr Al Jasem. "This is our ninth workshop and, excluding this round, a total of 230 children have benefited from the initiative since its launch in 2007." "Mahmoud is making good progress and should be discharged soon," said Dr Alessandro Giambeti, visiting consultant paediatric surgeon from Italy. "He will be able to lead a normal life." Mahmoud's father, Mohammad Al Ammari, said: "We are very thankful to Shaikh Mohammad [His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai] and the doctors' team for operating upon Mahmoud free of cost." WHY FONTAN? Children who have a single effective ventricle supplying blood to the lungs and the body are delicately balanced between inadequate blood supply to the lungs causing cyanosis (blue baby) and oversupply causing heart failure. The single ventricle does nearly twice the expected amount of work as it has to pump blood for both lungs and body. As a result, these children have trouble gaining weight, and are vulnerable to many illnesses.