Video: Doctors perform UAE's first heart-double lung transplant

Surgeons have successfully performed the UAE's first combined heart and double lung transplant, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi announced on Tuesday.

Due to the complexity of the patient's anatomical structure and her health conditions, the operation lasted over eight hours.

The patient, who is a 56-year old Emirati woman, was suffering from pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition caused by high pressure within the pulmonary artery, which disrupts the vital flow of blood from the heart to the lungs.

Dr Usman Ahmad, department chair for thoracic surgery at the hospital, said that the patient has made brilliant recovery and is now at home with her family, highlighting the importance of the landmark medical procedure.

"We have been able to bring multiple teams together at a very high level of experience and competence to do a very complex operation successfully," Dr Mitesh Badiwala, Staff Physician in the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute said.

The team of surgeons led by Ahmad and Badiwala connected the patient to the heart-lung bypass machine, removed her diseased heart and lungs, and implanted the new organs which started working very well immediately.

The surgery adds to the hospital's record of "more than 700 transplants, including 47 lung transplants and 23 heart transplants," Abu Dhabi Media Office said on X.

"Abu Dhabi has experienced a consistent increase in organ transplant procedures, exceeding 800 operations by the end of 2023, contributing to saving and improving the lives of many patients,” Dr Rashed Obaid Alsuwaidi, executive director for the healthcare workforce planning sector at the Department of Health said.