Doctors in Gaza perform rare heart surgery

A team of doctors in Gaza carried out the first cardiac catheterisation operation on children in Palestine, QudsNet reported a senior medical official saying on Monday.

Head of the Cardiology Department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza Dr Mohamed Habib said such operations would now be carried out on Thursdays.

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In the past, international doctors or Palestinians from abroad used to visit Palestinian hospitals to carry out this operation on children.

Habib stated that there are large numbers of Palestinian children who are in need of this operation, but due to the shortage in the resources needed for the procedure, it can only be carried out one day a week.

He unveiled the department’s future plans to perform eight to ten catheterisation operations every day. “There is a dire need for help to find alternatives to the high costs of treatment abroad and the closure of border crossings,” he said,

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“Despite the difficult conditions, the Cardiology Department will provide the best medical services for Gaza’s patients.”