Physicians at the Children’s Heart Center at The American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) performed a ground-breaking procedure, a first of its kind in the world, when they closed a rupture in a child’s aorta without resorting to surgery, using an umbrella-like Amplatzer device delivered through catheterization.
The procedure was performed by a team led by Professor and Director of the Children’s Heart Center, Dr. Fadi Bitar, in addition to Drs. Aghiad Al-Kutoubi, Mariam Arabi, Marianne Majdalani, and Mounir Obeid. The patient was a 9 year-old girl who had a ruptured sac of the ascending aorta. She had a rare disease called Takayasu arteritis, which is an inflammation of the aorta, the largest artery in the body that arises from the heart. The child needed urgent open-heart surgery, but she could not tolerate it. Without operating on the ruptured aorta, the child was at an imminent danger of dying. Having no alternatives, the team at the Children’s Heart Center at AUBMC resorted to cardiac catheterization utilizing an Umbrella like device – Amplatzer – to close the ruptured sac in the aorta. Without having to resort to surgery, the team successfully executed the procedure, resulting in the cessation of bleeding into the sac and improving the patient’s cardiac condition immediately.
“Cardiology in the Young”, the journal publishing the news about the procedure, “applauded the talented AUBMC team for attempting and successfully completing this daring and innovative intervention,” describing it as “impressive, particularly in terms of creativity in utilizing available equipment to treat an unusual problem”.
Professor Bitar asserted, “The Children’s Heart Center at AUBMC is proud to pioneer this first of its kind operation in the world. It reflects the leading position of our Center in the region and beyond.”
The Director of the Children’s Heart Center added, “Without the efforts of our multi-disciplinary team, such original endeavor would not have been possible.” This achievement reiterates the Children’s Heart Center pioneering role in presenting advanced development and providing groundbreaking and high quality healthcare to children with congenital heart disease.
The Children’s Heart Center at AUBMC, supported by the Brave Heart Fund, has grown over the past few years to become a major center caring for congenital heart disease in Lebanon, the region and beyond. Its track record includes pioneering new procedures to treat children with a variety of heart diseases in addition to worldwide discoveries relating to the causes of congenital heart disease.
