Shafaq News- Kirkuk

A medical team at Iraq’s Kirkuk Maternity and Children Hospital on Wednesday successfully performed the country’s “first surgery of its kind” on a 20-day-old infant suffering from an extremely rare congenital condition, of which only 22 cases have been documented worldwide.

The newborn had been experiencing severe breathing difficulties before advanced examinations, including cardiac echocardiography and CT imaging, confirmed a diagnosis of Peritoneopericardial Diaphragmatic Hernia, Arjan Mohammed Rashid, director general of the Kirkuk Health Directorate, told Shafaq News. The condition, he clarified, caused part of the infant’s liver to shift next to the heart inside the pericardial membrane, alongside fluid accumulation around the organ.

A joint surgical team specializing in pediatric, cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgery performed an emergency abdominal operation to return the liver to its normal position and close the congenital opening, Rashid noted, adding that the infant later underwent intensive postoperative care before being transferred to the pediatric surgery ward and discharged in good health.