UAE’s first funnel chest surgery performed on Emirati woman

People with congenital deformity need not travel overseas anymore for corrective surgery

A27-year-old Emirati woman has become the first person in the UAE to undergo corrective surgery for her funnel chest, a condition in which her sternum and ribs were pressing on her heart, the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi said.

The congenital deformity, which can cause shortness of breath, decreased stamina, fatigue, pain and irregular heartbeat, is also responsible for psychological issues like decreased self-esteem and depression.

Although the surgery was the first to be performed in the UAE to correct funnel chest, or pectus excavatum, more such procedures will soon be undertaken, a top doctor at the hospital told Gulf News.

“Previously, people in the UAE with pectus excavatum travelled overseas to have corrective surgery, but they can now undergo the procedure closer to home. In this particular case, the patient has been discharged and is recovering well,” said Dr Redha Souilamas, chief of thoracic surgery at the hospital’s Heart and Vascular Institute.

During the two-hour procedure, a small camera was inserted into the patient’s chest, and small incisions were made on either side of her chest.

A titanium bar shaped to fit her was then inserted between the heart and sternum, and secured to the chest wall.

The bar will remain in place for about two years till the bones solidify around it, and it will then be removed.

Two other cases

There are at least two other cases of Emirati patients with funnel chest for whom surgeries will soon be performed, Dr Souilamas said. Because of the abnormal development of bones in the front, it can also lead to a debilitating curvature of the spine in some patients, as well as severe chest pain as the ribs and sternum compress the chest.

“Not only does surgery improve their general health but it can also help mitigate the negative psychosocial effects brought about by the deformity,” the doctor explained.

Funnel chest is three times more common among men than women, and tends to run in families. The female patient who underwent surgery has a brother who suffers from it.

“I was a little nervous about being the first patient in the UAE to undergo the procedure and had initially applied to have the surgery overseas. But I was happy to [undergo it here with my family near me], and my brother is now considering the same treatment over the summer,” the patient said.

“The successful procedure, commonly known as Nuss procedure, means that Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi now offers the full spectrum of thoracic surgery, including lung transplants,” Dr Souilamas said.