The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has revealed that the cardiothoracic surgery Department at Dubai Hospital has conducted more than 400 major surgeries in 2017.

Among the major surgeries, 75 per cent were coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery – some of them are considered highly complicated surgeries due to multiple risk factors of the condition, said a statement.

The remaining surgeries include repairing and replacing heart valves and removing tumours of the heart and lungs and transcatheter aortic valve implantation, which was conducted in corporation with the cardiology team at DHA, to name a few, it said.

Dr Obaid Al Jassim, 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 and its equipment with the latest state-of-the-art technology, it added.

He added that the department, which includes— 15 consultants, senior specialists and specialists in cardiothoracic surgery, in addition to cardiac anesthesiologist —   regularly receives cases that are in critical condition.

Dr Al Jassim further noted that when receiving such patients, the first minutes are the most critical and due to the highly specialised cadres of the department and the hospital’s preparations, they are able to stabilise their condition, with highly specialised technology.

Such technology include extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is an external heart lung machine that is considered one of the smallest heart and lung external machines in the world and is capable that can replace 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 include other complicated surgeries that include cardiac tumours and the aortic dissection  to name a few.

Dr Al Jassim said that the success of the Dubai Hospital and the department in specific is due to 25 years of work that has left a mark in the region.

Regarding ECMO and its uses Dr Al Jassim said that heart related diseases contribute to 30 per cent of deaths around the world according to WHO and most of these diseases are due to heart attacks— decrease in the oxygen supply of vital organs in the body.

This is where the function of the machines lies, said Dr Al Jassim, who pointed out that the ECMO is used for critical cardiac arrest cases that are at late stages such as  pulmonary and cardiac failure, acute cardiac arrest or heart failure to name a few. – TradeArabia News Service