Tunisian surgical team performs first in Africa and the Arab World
Tunis, April 21, 2008 (TunisiaOnline)--A team of five surgeons, composed of four Tunisians and a Frenchman , achieved a first in Africa and in the Middle East by operating a 9 month-old baby at the university hospital ‘Fatouma Bourguiba' in Monastir, in order to remedy a congenital malfunction of the heart which has impaired the infant's inter ventricular communication.
This anomaly which affects about 2 to 4 new born babies out of 1000, appears during the constitution of the heart, in pregnancy.
It consists in an abnormal cavity between the two heart cavities, the left and right ventricle which pump blood. This cavity causes an abnormal blood circulation between the two ventricles resulting in a heart murmur and a possible cardiac insufficiency; it may also affect the lung vessels.
Prof Fawzi Maatoug, Head of the coronary diseases department said following the intervention that the surgery which used to be an open heart surgery was performed thanks to the latest cutting edge medical technology including the introduction through the patient's femoral arteries of two catheters directed both sides of the heart, with a view to close the cavity.
In spite of the health problems affecting this baby who weighed between 4 and 5 kilos only, the surgery allowed the baby to be taken home after 24 hours spent in hospital. The baby is said to be in very good health and speedily recovering.
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