Nalbantoğlu hospital performs congenital heart surgery locally

Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital’s Cardiovascular Surgery Department in Nicosia has carried out an operation for congenital heart disease, according to the North Cyprus Health Ministry.

The ministry described the procedure as the department’s first operation of this type. It said the patient was 21 and had a heart-wall defect alongside congenital narrowing below the aorta and in the supravalvular aortic region.

Cardiovascular surgery specialist Dr Hasan Ceyda said the patient had sought care for shortness of breath and palpitations. Following examinations and an assessment by the adult cardiology team, doctors decided surgery was needed, he said.

Ceyda said operations of this kind would normally be performed in Turkey, but the hospital team completed the necessary preparations and carried out the procedure in North Cyprus.

Health Minister Hakan Dinçyürek said patients requiring this type of surgery had previously been referred abroad. He said the patient’s health and general condition were very good after the operation.