Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) revealed that the cardiothoracic surgery department at Dubai Hospital successfully conducted more than 400 major surgeries in 2017.
Among them, 75 per cent were coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgeries some of which were highly complicated due to multiple risk factors of the condition. The remaining surgeries included repairing and replacing heart valves and removing tumours of the heart and lungs and transcatheter aortic valve implantation, which was conducted in cooperation with the cardiology team at DHA, to name a few.
Dr Obaid Al Jasem, head of the cardiothoracic surgery department, said Dubai Hospital is one of the leading hospitals in the region due to the quick intervention of its specialised doctors who use state-of-the-art technology.
The department, which includes 15 consultants, senior specialists and specialists in cardiothoracic surgery, in addition to cardiac anaesthesiologists, regularly receives cases in critical condition. When receiving such patients, the first minutes are the most critical and due to the highly specialised cadres who are equipped to use advanced technology and latest techniques, the department has been able to stabilise the patients. One such technique is the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is an external heart-lung machine that is considered one of the smallest in the world and is capable to take over functions of the heart and lungs.
He added that last year, 75 per cent of major surgeries conducted were CABG, 15 per cent were valve operations (restoration and replacement) and the remaining 10 per cent were other complicated procedures including removal of cardiac tumours and aortic dissection, to name a few.
