Second surgery on Polish baby performed successfully

RIYADH: The second phase of the operation on a Polish child for a genetic heart disease was successfully performed at the King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) of the National Guard Health Affairs on Wednesday.

On a directive from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, one-year-old Jakub Przystki was flown into the Kingdom in November and underwent the first surgery in January.
National Guard Minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah had directed the officials of the KAMC to take necessary action to implement the order of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. He also extended his thanks and gratitude to the king for his generous support and permanent follow-up to the development of the health sector in the country.
Initial medical reports explained that the Polish child was suffering from a rare genetic heart disease that requires a complicated surgery and specialized medical care.
The first surgery had lasted for 18 hours and it was conducted by a medical team led by cardiac surgery consultant Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Khalidi and supported by Dr. Omar Al-Tamimi, a consultant pediatric cardiologist, and Dr. Mohammed Al-Islam, consultant anesthetist. Al-Khalidi said the second surgery lasted eight hours and the patient’s condition is improving. The baby is in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and will be moved to the general ward on improvement.
Earlier in a statement to Arab News, Polish Ambassador Witold Smidowski thanked King Salman for his humanitarian gesture in helping the Polish child. “I am also thankful to Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah for his kind cooperation and interest in the matter,” he said.
The envoy recalled that this is not the first time the Kingdom has come forward to help Poland in providing medical treatment free of charge. Even earlier, conjoined twins from Warsaw were separated successfully due to the magnanimity shown by the Kingdom as a humanitarian country, he said.
Saudi Arabia has a team of top surgeons with the experience of treating more than 65 conjoined twins from 18 countries, of which 30 have been successful during the past two decades. The remaining cases were not fit for separation owing to health reasons.
Besides the Kingdom, the twins had come from countries such as Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Morocco and Iraq.