In a rare kind of surgery to be performed not only in the Middle East but also in Asia, surgeons at the King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah removed a cancerous tumor weighing 17.6 kilograms from the abdomen of an 85-year-old patient.

“It’s kind of rare surgery in the Middle East and Asia, which lasted for nearly 20 hours. A team of surgeons and paramedics from various disciplines performed the surgery successfully under the supervision of Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Zahrani, who is also the head of specialized surgeries,” Dr. Yasin Mohammed Malawi Anha, director of King Abdullah Medical City, said.

Doctors from oncology, radiotherapy, radiology, cardiology and other departments were involved in the surgery. “The team successfully removed the entire tumor as also residuary cancer cells from the body of the patient. The pre-surgery exercise involved about 30 different processes,” he said, adding it was a complex and difficult surgery where the entire abdominal and digestive system had to be restored after the operation.

The director said that King Abdullah Medical City was paying special attention to elderly patients who are not in a position to afford open heart surgery due to their weakness. Last year it had conducted 320 open heart surgeries and 3047 other cardiology related operations.

Dr. Yasin Malawi said that King Abdullah Medical City also performed 691 different kinds of heart surgeries during the last Haj season, besides performing 58 open heart surgeries on pilgrims.

He said the medical city has 30 beds exclusively for heart-related cases and that it conducted 10 surgeries on an average per day. It has the capacity to carry out 60 surgeries if required, he added.

The director said that King Abdullah Medical City is also planning to introduce supportive devices for chronic heart patients, which can also be used to support heart functioning in patients who are being shifted to medical facilities.