Medcare Hospital Al Safa becomes first in Dubai to use retrievable scaffold therapy for blocked leg arteries

A 71-year-old Emirati woman was at risk of losing her foot. The arteries below her knee had narrowed so severely that blood could barely reach the wound on her foot, and without intervention, the outcome could have been amputation. She became the first patient in Dubai to be treated with SPUR Retrievable Scaffold Therapy, a procedure now available at Medcare Hospital Al Safa, which has become the first hospital in the city to offer it.

The case is striking not just for its outcome, but for what it reveals about the growing clinical challenge of peripheral arterial disease in the UAE, particularly among patients with diabetes.

How does it work?

SPUR is a minimally invasive device used to treat severely narrowed or blocked arteries below the knee, the small vessels that carry blood to the foot and lower leg. In many patients, especially those with diabetes, these arteries develop significant calcification and disease, making them difficult to treat with standard techniques.

The standard approach is balloon angioplasty, where a small balloon is inflated inside the artery to reopen it. But in some vessels, the artery recoils once the balloon is removed, reducing the effectiveness of the procedure. SPUR addresses this by temporarily supporting the artery wall during treatment, holding the vessel open while the intervention takes place.

The critical difference is what happens at the end. The scaffold is fully retrieved before the procedure is complete, leaving no permanent metal stent or implant inside the body. This matters because:

• Small below-the-knee arteries are poor candidates for permanent metal implants, which can cause complications in heavily diseased vessels
• A clean vessel with no implant is easier to treat again if the patient needs a future intervention
• It preserves all options for follow-up care, which is important in a patient population that often requires ongoing vascular management

Dr Saher Arour, Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Medcare Hospital Al Safa and the first surgeon in Dubai to perform the procedure, described the clinical logic plainly: "When a foot wound does not heal because of poor circulation, restoring blood flow can make the difference between progressive tissue loss and giving the foot a chance to heal. SPUR provides temporary support to the artery during treatment and is then completely removed. We therefore gain the benefit of temporary scaffolding without leaving a permanent implant behind."

In the first patient's case, the narrowed artery was successfully reopened, the scaffold was retrieved, and follow-up imaging confirmed improved blood flow to the foot. The wound improved and the limb was preserved.

Why does it matter?

The UAE has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world. The International Diabetes Federation puts the age-standardised prevalence at around 20.7% among adults aged 20 to 79. Diabetes is a primary driver of peripheral arterial disease and diabetic foot complications, and when left untreated, these conditions can lead to amputation.

Limb loss carries serious consequences: reduced quality of life, long-term rehabilitation costs, and in many cases, significantly shortened life expectancy. So a therapy that can improve outcomes for patients who might otherwise face amputation has real consequences for public health, not just for individual patients.

Bilal Al Soweissi, COO of Medcare Hospital Al Safa, said the introduction of SPUR gives patients with complex below-the-knee arterial disease access to another advanced treatment option in Dubai, adding that timely restoration of blood flow can play a major role in wound healing and limb preservation for patients with diabetic foot wounds.

The context

The UAE has invested heavily in building a healthcare system capable of treating complex, chronic conditions locally rather than sending patients abroad. Medcare Hospital Al Safa's adoption of SPUR therapy fits within that direction. It also aligns with the broader priorities of UAE Vision 2030 and related health strategy frameworks, which place diabetes prevention and management near the top of the national agenda.

Being first in Dubai to offer a procedure is not just a marketing milestone. It signals that the clinical and regulatory infrastructure exists to evaluate, approve, and deploy specialised technologies quickly. For patients with advanced vascular disease, that speed can determine whether a limb is saved or lost. And in a country where diabetes affects roughly one in five adults, the number of people who may eventually need this kind of intervention is not small.