Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, based in Al Hassa, has made an admirable medical achievement which was reckoned the first of its kind among MOH cardiac centers. Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Implantation (TAVI) was performed to a 90-year-old man and 2 women in the eighth decade, suffering from severe aortic valve stenosis. The center's director, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Abdulqader, said that this type of medical intervention is performed through Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE), and by using a catheter (size 16 FR, the smallest unit of measurement used in the world); making the use of the catheter so easy that it doesn't take more than than an hour.
Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Abdulqader clarified that this new medical technology can help avoid open-heart surgery that is risky, especially with elderly patients. During open heart surgery, there may be dangerous complications, such as severe bleeding, stroke, and sudden drops in blood pressure. He pointed out that this kind of medical intervention was, not so long ago, an unattainable dream, aspired to by many patients suffering from severe valve stenosis. This promising medical alternative is not anymore a mere idea or aspiration; it has finally come into being, to put an end to the suffering of numerous patients.
The problem of severe valve stenosis, Abdulqader added, is an unsettled health status, that could be a precursor for abrupt death, by as high a percentage as 80 %, over the three years following onset of these three symptoms: chest pain, fainting, and heart failure). The valve implantation operation is performed in two phases: the first phase includes inserting the empty balloon into the area the infected valve, and, then, inflating it to widen the narrowed valve. This, in turn, helps rarefy the attached valvules, and fragmentize the lime deposits on it. This phase is intended only for preparing the surrounding area of the patient's valve, to be ready for receiving the new valve.
The second phase involves the insertion of the new valve, fixed on a steel abutment, with a balloon inserted inside it. These three components: the balloon, the valve and the abutment have to be identical, so that they don't take up but a few millimeters. However, as the combination reaches the valve area, the balloon is inflated, in a way that expands the diameter of the abutment, and opens the valvues of the new valve. As the pressure of inflation increases, the abutment will be attached to the wall of the heart, at the valve area. The valve begins to function, by allowing blood to flow from the left ventricle to the aorta during the successive heart contractions, and preventing blood from taking the reverse direction (from the aorta to the ventricle). The problems caused by the valve stenosis are thus overcome.
The Director of the Center acclaimed the efficiency of the medical team, headed by Dr. Abdullah bin Essam Al-Ghobashy, Interventional Catheterization Consultant, and Medical Director of the Center. He also expressed his approbation for the advanced medical and technological equipment which was crucial for the making such a colossal achievement.
This achievement is an additional episode of the series of successes accomplished by the center, established on the 4th of Shawwal, in 1424H, by His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, and Inspector-General. The center was set to work in mid-1428. By means of insightful planning, the center managed to peform an open-heart operation in its first year, leading up to this regional and international excellence that the Ministry of Health has been always looking forward to.
In conclusion, Dr. Abdulqader expressed his gratitude to His Excellency the Minister of Health, for the continuing and unremitting support the center, just like all the health sectors throughout this blessed country, receives under his prudent patronage.