We held surgeries despite siege

Dr. Mohamed Housein Habib, head of cardiac catheterisation department at the European Gaza Hospital, said that the department managed to hold several surgeries of successful interventional catheterisation for many Gaza inhabitants. In an exclusive interview with 'Arabstoday', Habib said that the department held 6500 surgeries since its opening in 2006. On the academic level, Dr. Habib also mentioned the publication of dozens of medical studies in different areas and attended a number of international and regional medical conferences. He also supervised a number of Master's degree programmes in cardiac sicknesses for national and Egyptian medical colleges. The doctor holds the honour of founding the first medical magazine in Palestine that focuses on scientific research conducted in Palestine and neighboring countries. The medical team in the department was reliable for going through the crisis and achieving success when they managed to trasform the unit of investigational catheterization into an interventional catheterization unit, which allowed the minister of health in Palestine decrease the number of cases sent abroad for medication. This let the department provide appropriate cardiac medication and save money spent on travel. "When the department was first established in 2006, we thought our work would not go beyond investigational catheterisation and send abroad all cases in need of interventional catheterization. But in 2008, we realised that hundreds of cases were pending and long lines on waiting lists motivated us to hold the first interventional catheterization surgery under supervision of the supportive ministry of health. Since then, we started our mission of breaking the siege." He also added: "We were supported by charities who provided us with the required equipment, which was a must because even the simplest surgery of that type costs hundreds of dollars."   About the objectives of operating the department, Habib said: "We seek to help people get rid of burdens either financially or psychologically and stop draining the funds of our national health institutions in favor of their counterparts abroad. We saved almost 2 million USD last year. We also wish to save the funds of the health ministry, decrease the victims of the siege in addition to maintaining the dignity of the Palestinians."   When asked about the specific surgeries held in the hospital, Habib said that the hospital held a surgery of exploded inflation eradication from the abdomen that won its first award from WHO (World Health Organization). "Using the interventional catheterization we succeeded in getting the inflation out and saving the patient in addition to installing a stabilizer for the heart. We also held operations for the treatment of brain strokes in addition to increasing the capacity of the department to 10 surgeries a week," stated Habib. A strange thing that happened to Dr. Habib during a heart surgery was when he and his team found a fistula between the main left coronary artery and arteries of the rib cage, which caused a lack of blood feeding the muscle of the heart and weakness of the left ventricle muscle. He then had to close the open of the fistula and implant coated cells so that blood can be pumped to the heart muscle, not to the rib cage. He added that a fistula is an abnormal connection between one of the coronary arteries feeding the heart muscle and any part of the track flowed by the RNA blood flow or the heart chambers (left or right atrium). Dr. Habib said that fistulas in the coronary arteries are seldom found as they don't exceed one in a thousand cases. The first ever operation to close a fistula was held in 1947, and shortly after, open heart operations were used to treat the ailment. It is difficult to believe that these operations are held in Gaza where there is a severe shortage of medical equipment and necessities. So the success of such operations in such circumstances makes them among the best surgical practices in the world. The department of cardiac catheterization witnessed a specific move on the way to development and promotion regarding the provision of distinguished medical service, according to Habib.