KUWAIT: The team of Kuwaiti and German surgeons who conducted the operation. —KUNA

KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti surgical team, assisted by a German team, performed the first surgical operation in the Middle East to transplant an artificial heart pump with a minimal invasive technique. Head of the surgery team at Sulaiman Al-Dabous Heart Center, Dr Riad Al-Tarazi, said that with the help of a German team from Hanover University, the artificial heart pump was successfully installed for a Kuwaiti patient in his fifties who was suffering from severe failure in heart function and blood circulation. He added that the operation was conducted in a unique minimally invasive technique, which is the first of its kind type of operations to be performed in the Middle East. This technique helps to avoid the complications associated with the traditional surgical method and helps the patient recover faster, he said. He added that the patient is currently in the intensive care unit in Dabous center, pointing out that ventilators have been removed in less than 24 hours from the conclusion of the surgery. - KUNA