The first HIV-positive patient in China to undergo heart surgery was discharged Thursday from the Shanghai hospital where he had been receiving treatment.

"It was China's first successful heart surgery on an HIV-positive patient," said Lu Hongzhou, director of the Shanghai Center for AIDS Diagnosis and Treatment.

The male patient, 58, had a problem with the aortic valve in his heart, an issue that could only be corrected through surgery.

Sun Xiaoning, a surgeon with Zhongshan Hospital under Fudan University, said after the surgery on January 6, the patient was transferred so that HIV-related complications could be treated.

"There is an occupational risk when operating on HIV-positive patients. Our team was not afraid, it was our obligation," said Sun.

Zhu Tongyu, director of the Shanghai Public Health Clinic Center, said people living with HIV/AIDS are often rejected by hospitals for surgery. The center's AIDS Diagnosis and Treatment Center has dedicated itself to addressing this difficulty for the past seven years.

It was with the help of the center that the patient was admitted by the hospital.

The center has helped AIDS patients receive surgery ranging from orthopaedics, neurosurgery, oncology to ophthalmology.

(Source: Xinhua)