"Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi conducts life-saving open chest surgery on 31-year-old patient."

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 group, successfully performed life-saving open chest surgery to treat a 31-year-old patient suffering from Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH).

This life-threatening condition is caused by high pressure within the pulmonary artery, which affects the vital flow of blood from the heart to the lungs. It's a rare disease, affecting approximately 3 to 30 individuals per million and has a high mortality rate. About 0.4 percent to 4.8 percent of patients diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism will develop CTEPH.

Dr. Usman Ahmad, Department Chair of Thoracic Surgery at the Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, described the condition as potentially life-threatening if left untreated. "Upon our initial assessment, we recommended several tests to pinpoint the root cause of the patient's condition. Through this process, we found evidence of CTEPH. The patient faced abnormal pressure in his heart, coupled with extensive clotting in the blood vessels beneath it. These clots had migrated to his lungs, causing significant breathing difficulties and escalating heart pressure, ultimately leading to heart failure," said Dr. Ahmad.

Explaining the complexity of anesthesia in such complex cases, Dr. Arun Kumar, Staff Physician, Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Anesthesiology Institute, said, "During the procedure, we had to fully open the chest and connect it to a heart-lung bypass machine to do a deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. This involved lowering the patient's body temperature to 18°C to temporarily halt bodily functions. During this period, we carefully assessed the lung blood vessels, meticulously removing scar tissue to restore functionality. Subsequently, blood circulation is resumed via the machine, gradually warming the body and reactivating the heart and lungs, enabling normal function to resume."

The patient was cared for by a team of surgeons, pulmonologists, cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, and interventional radiologists at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.