By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Head of the catheterization unit at the Chest Hospital Dr Khalid Al-Merri and Head of the Heart Disease Department Dr Abdullah Al-Enezi announced they've conducted a successful rare catheterization operation for a patient in his 80s. The procedure was highly complicated, and considered the first-of-its-kind in Kuwait and the Middle East, they said.

Merri said the patient suffered from various ailments and had underwent an open heart surgery previously, including the replacement of the aortic valve, which narrowed by time and had to be replaced to save the patient. Enezi said the procedure is highly risky and the coronary artery could have closed, so to solve the problem, a new procedure called BASILICA was used to prevent blockage while changing the valve.