Dubai expat saved after 18-hour long complex heart surgery

The doctors said it was a big challenge to repair the defect in the stented area.

It took a team of Dubai doctors to perform an 18-hour complex emergency cardiac surgery to save a 37-year-old expatriate from Thailand from the jaws of death. The operation was not just Herculean, but gruelling too.
Dr Obaid Al Jassim and Dr Bassil Al Zamkan, senior consultants in cardiovascular & cardiothoracic surgery at Dubai Hospital, said: "Aortic dissection is at the forefront of complex operations, in terms of risk and direct threat to a patient's life. In such situations, quick and precise intervention is necessary as this condition can lead to massive bleeding around the heart and shut down the body's vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, liver and cause immediate death."
Apart from Dr Al Jassim and Al Zamkan, who performed the surgery, the team consisted of Dr Tariq Abdul Aziz, senior specialist cardiac surgeon, Mohannad Al Asaad, cardiothoracic specialist, Aseem Pawar, cardiothoracic specialist and Dr Fayaz Qazi, consultant in cardiac anesthesia. 
Commenting on the patient's condition, Dr Al Jassim and Al Zamkan said: "Aortic dissection is a serious life-threatening condition in which the inner layer of the aorta (the



large blood vessel branching off the heart) tears. Blood surges through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate (dissect). In this case, the patient underwent three months back stenting of the whole Aortic dissection type B which means the stent reached the proximal part the ascending aortic including two of the three major vessels which supply the brain."
Therefore, the doctors said it was a big challenge to repair the defect in the stented area and at the same time to maintain the blood flow to the brain.
"We decided to modify a technique in an innovative way, which was never practiced before, to repair the defect and to minimise the high risk of these procedures and to save the patient's life. This was needed to stop the bleeding, replace the torn blood vessels and ensure the functioning of the heart."
For this type of an open heart surgery, extensive preparation is needed. A rare smart and advanced technique, to provide a continuous supply of blood to the brain throughout the surgery even when blood circulation to the rest of the body is stopped was also used.
The patient, who was transferred immediately to the surgical ICU and then to the ward, was discharged after two weeks in excellent health condition.