A medical team from the National Heart Centre of the Royal Hospital met with success in utilizing minimally invasive techniques for conducting heart surgeries for the first time in the Sultanate of Oman thereby avoiding cutting breastbone (sternum) to reach the heart.
The first nine procedures were successful. The patients left the intensive care room in a record 13 hours’ time, while most patients were discharged on the third day after the operation.
The team of minimally invasive cardiac surgeries is headed by Dr. Qasim Al Abri, consultant adult cardiac surgeon at the Royal Hospital, said that minimally invasive heart surgery is procedures performed through one or more small chest incisions. This approach avoids open-heart surgeries and offers less pain, complications, and hospital stays.
Dr. Qasim pointed out that, since performing this type of cardiovascular surgery requires significant surgical training, the preparation and training of the staff took a full one-year. The preparation involved the supp
ly of the required devices, preparation and formation of the MICS team.
Dr. Qasim credited the success to the support that the health sector receives from His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, who gave directives to provide all means of upgrading preventive and curative services by keeping pace with new updates in the health sector.
Dr. Qasim commended the surgical team’s high spirit of cooperation and competence which, he explained, brought about a great deal of professionalism and accuracy in performing the operations and providing high-quality health services.
For his part, Dr. Alaa Al Lawati, Head of the Cardiac Surgery Department, said that the campaign represented a positive shift forward and ushered in a new era in the medical services.
The outcome, he added, would contribute to providing optimal treatment for cardiac surgery patients and meet their various needs and fasters their post-operative recovery.
The team was trained on the techniques used in regular heart surgeries and through simulation
.
Candidate Patients were fully informed about this type of procedure.
The specialized team that conducted the operations included medical staff from various departments of the centre, the anesthesia team headed by Dr. Ishaq Al Amri, the nursing team in the surgical operating room headed by nurse Hamida Al Khatria, cardiac perfusion technicians headed by Saleh Al Kiyoumi, and the sterilization technicians headed by Ali Al Jabri.
Source: Oman News Agency