Iraqi girl undergoes heart surgery in Maine

PORTLAND – A 5-year-old Iraqi girl underwent surgery Thursday to repair a hole in her heart, an operation that was arranged by a Utah Army National Guard unit serving in Iraq.

The two-hour procedure on Noor abd Al-Hady Hassan was performed at Maine Medical Center by Dr. Reed Quinn, Maine’s only pediatric cardiac surgeon.

Quinn, who has ties to Utah, learned of Noor’s condition from the 115th Engineering Group and agreed to perform the surgery free of charge.

After the operation, Quinn said Noor was doing well and was joined by her father in the recovery room. The girl is expected to spend three or four days in the hospital and three to four weeks in Portland while doctors monitor her recovery.

Noor was born with a hole in the septum that divides the two pumping chambers of the heart. Her surgery was described as fairly routine and not high risk.

The surgery and all the arrangements were provided under a program in which Quinn’s medical group, Maine Heart Surgical Associates, performs six to eight such charity cases a year.