The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) recently held a felicitation ceremony for a team of doctors for providing 25 children a new lease of life by completing complex heart surgeries and catherization procedures.

The event held at Dubai Hospital honoured the Italian team of doctors from San Donato Hospital in Milan and Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment.

As part of the humanitarian initiative, known as the heart-healthy initiative, a team of visiting doctors from the San Donato Hospital in Milan came to Dubai for ten days to perform complex cardiac procedures with the team of DHA doctors.

During this time, 25 heart procedures were performed for children aged for children aged one week to 19 years. All the children are recovering well and the operations were a success.

The cost of all the operations was covered by the Dubai Health Authority for Emiratis and Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment covered the cost of the operations for expatriates.

The initiative began in October 2007 and so far more than 250 children of various nationalities have benefited from this initiative.

The team of cardiologists performed various procedures including complex paediatric heart procedures, such as the arterial switch, which, until now, is only performed at the Dubai Hospital in the Emirate.

Dr Obaid Al Jassim, head of Cardiology at the Dubai Hospital said: “We have performed several complex procedures since the beginning of this initiative and this initiative has resulted in providing those patients who cannot afford treatment with a chance for survival. All the cases have been successful and we are looking forward to the next workshop which will take place in October this year.”

“While under this initiative there is no cost involved, if the same complex surgeries are performed abroad, the cost ranges from Dh200,00 ($54,450) to Dh4000,000.”

The children included expatriates from various countries such as Yemen, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Iraq.

Dr Alessandro Frigiola, chief of Cardiac Surgery at the San Donato Hospital in Milan said that this initiative stems out of their commitment to alleviate the suffering of children with heart disorders the world over.

He and his team, regularly visit different parts of the world to help treat children with congenital heart disease as part of their work for the charity mission known as, ‘Association for Children with Heart Disease in the World.'

They will visit Dubai in October this year to continue the free heart surgeries programme. – TradeArabia News Service