The National Center for Cardiac Medicine and Surgery at the Royal Hospital in Oman achieved a groundbreaking milestone by successfully using the AngioVac device to extract a bacterial mass from a patient's heart through a catheter. Dr. Hatem bin Ali Al Lawati, Senior Consultant in Interventional and Structural Cardiology, and Head of the Medical Team, highlighted that the patient initially developed an infection in the blood from a dialysis catheter, which progressed into a bacterial mass within the heart.
The AngioVac device, comprising a specialized endoscopic suction tube connected to an external intravenous circuit, played a crucial role. It filtered the blood of impurities and aspirated masses, subsequently re-pumping purified blood into the patient's central circulation. Dr. Al Lawati emphasized that this innovative approach spared the patient from traditional heart surgery, avoiding the need to cut the sternum. The treatment with the AngioVac device effectively shortened the antibiotic treatment period and eliminated the primary source of infection. The operation was deemed successful, and the patient's condition remains stable.
The medical team included Dr. Alaa bin Hassan Al Lawati, senior consultant and head of the cardiac surgery department; Dr. Kamla bint Khalifa Al Wahaibi, consultant cardiologist and head of the cardiac laboratory for interventional imaging; and Dr. Ishaq Al Ameri, senior consultant and head of the anesthesia department.
Various medical and technical professionals also played crucial roles, such as Salim Al Muqbali, interventional catheterization laboratory technician; Maria Al Balushi from the cardiac perfusion staff; and nursing staff members Ahlam Al Balushi, Ahmed Al Busaidi, and Jamal Al-Muharbi.
The National Center for Cardiac Diseases and Surgery, being among the first centers in the region to offer this advanced catheter treatment, marks a significant leap forward in addressing challenging cases that are traditionally difficult to treat using conventional surgical methods.