The Saudi medical team from Prince Sultan Cardiac Center has conducted over 200 successful surgical operations and examined more than 600 Yemeni children suffering from various heart diseases at Al-Thowra General Hospital. Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh praised the humanitarian efforts by the medical team. A team of 39 cardiac surgeons headed by Dr. Howaidah Bint Obeid Al-Qathami visited Sana'a under the directives of King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan to treat Yemeni newborns and children suffering from congenital heart defects. The program was aimed at improving relations in the medical sector between the two neighboring countries. Yemeni doctors joined Saudi doctors in the surgeries to benefit from the experienced Saudi surgeons.