Indian Doctors Give 51-Year-Old Captive Iraqi a New Heart

A 51-year-old Iraqi captive gets a new lease of life from Indian doctors; he was given an artificial heart in India. The patient had suffered several bullet injuries at the hands of terrorists who had kept him captive.

Hani Jawad Mohammed flew back to Iraq on July 28 with an artificial heart. He had undergone several rounds of surgeries in his native country which however did not improve his health.

‘Despite undergoing a series of surgeries there at Iraq, no improvements were seen in his health.’

After coming to India, Mohammad was advised for Left Ventricle Assistance Device (LVAD), popularly known as an artificial heart, Ajay Kaul, Chairman and Head of Department, CTVS, BLK Heart Centre said in a statement on Thursday.

"Mohammed came to us with a terminal heart condition (cardiomyopathy) which was a result of eight gunshot injuries he had suffered during captivity.

"We found that his heart was very weak and could not eject blood. We tried to treat him medically first but his breathlessness kept increasing, and he was completely crippled. He was waiting for a transplant, but due to acute shortage of donors, it was not feasible at that point of time," Kaul said.

Source: IANS