Sharjah - A specialised team of experts and doctors has been hired to deal with the cases.
Published: Tue 9 Jul 2019, 7:00 PM
Updated: Tue 9 Jul 2019, 9:20 PM
More than 30 open heart surgeries - some of which are rare - have been conducted on children at the newly opened paediatric ward at Al Qassimi Hospital for Women and Children in Sharjah.
The new heart surgery service has been launched to meet the growing need for paediatric heart operations.
A specialised team of experts and doctors has been hired to deal with the cases.
The team includes a consultant cardiologist, a cardiologist, anesthesiologist, intensive care consultant, perfusionist, and 10 nursing staff specialised in paediatric open heart surgery in both the operation room and the intensive care unit (ICU).
The new service covers all paediatric open heart operations such as atrial septal defect, complex operations, heart defects, as well as single ventricle defects and left ventricular reconstruction, which require immediate surgery after the birth of the foetus.
Dr Kalthoum Al Baloushi, director of hospitals administration, said: "We aim to offer UAE citizens and residents the best facilities in accordance with the best international practices to improve the quality of health services and patient safety."
"The ministry is doing its utmost to provide unparalleled services in the field of open heart surgery and aims to cover all surgical cases, whether for citizens or residents" she said.
Heart treatment
Dr Safia Al-Khaja, director-general of Al Qassimi Hospital for Women and Children, reiterated that the hospital's new service will underpin the level of services the ministry is offering to residents of Sharjah and northern emirates, adding that paediatric open heart surgery service was first made available in January 2019 through the visiting consultant programme.
She added that the team operating at the hospital works on diagnosing surgical cases, takes necessary medical measures and conducts operations according to a calculated plan and the best techniques and global practices.
Dr Ahmed Al-Kamali, director of the cardiology centre at the hospital, said that the department has so far carried out more than 30 successful open heart surgeries on children.
"We are carefully following up on all cases to ensure patients do not need artificial respirator immediately after surgery which provides a shorter stay at the ICU and reduces the treatment costs," he said.
"Relatives of the patient can visit and interact with the child after the surgery at the ICU which will positively reflect on the child and the family," he added.
The team is also always on standby to receive and deal with emergency cases of newborns, which require quick intervention, whether the child is born in the hospital or any of the ministry's hospitals in the northern Emirates.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
A Staff Reporter
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