In Gaza … open-heart surgery suffers due to the lack of resources.
At the beginning of Coronavirus spread in Gaza’s community in late August 2020, several surgical departments were transferred from the European Gaza Hospital to different hospitals, including the Cardiac Surgery Department.
Since early March 2020, the cardiac surgical department has limited its operations to emergency and critical cases. With the beginning of October, operations were re-scheduled with a rate of one case daily.
In a meeting with the cardiac consultant at the Shifa Medical Complex, Dr. Muhammad Nassar said that the department performed more than 120 surgeries from last March to mid-August at the European Gaza Hospital.
Dr. Nassar indicated that the success rates of open-heart surgeries performed in the Gaza Strip exceed 98%, which is among the best international rates.
According to Dr. Nassar, these great successes are negatively affected by the severe shortage of valves, medicines, and medical consumables for patients.
Dr. Nassar added that the Heart Surgery Center in the Shifa Medical Complex is now considered the only cardiac center available in the Gaza Strip during the spread of the Covid 19.
D. Nassar pointed out that more than 90 operations are on the waiting list at present. However, the shortage of consumables and medicines represents a grave danger to patients’ lives.
Dr. Nassar pointed to the necessity of providing disposables and medical drugs to save patients’ lives in need of open-heart surgery.