Directory of Services

Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery

INTRODUCTION

It is committed to providing comprehensive cardiovascular and thoracic care including advanced interventional cardiology and open heart surgery, combined with a cardiac rehabilitation and a patient education program for patients within the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf. The services offered are carried out by a dedicated team of highly qualified cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthetists, specialists, dieticians, nurses, and clinical support staff.


MISSION

To provide a high quality cardiovascular healthcare service to the community with highly skilled medical personnel utilizing the latest technologically advanced equipment and to respect the values and beliefs of the patient.

SCOPE OF SERVICE


The Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Services Department comprises three divisions:

  • Adult Cardiology Services.
  • Pediatric Cardiology Services.
  • Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Services.

The department is capable of providing a whole spectrum of preventative, diagnostic, non-invasive, invasive, and interventional cardiology procedures.

These services are provided through a number of components of the Cardiology Department: These are the Cardiac Outpatient Clinic, the Coronary and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, the Cardiac Non-Invasive Laboratory, and the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. In addition, the department works closely with the Nuclear Diagnostic Imaging Service and the Cardiac Rehabilitation Service, which is part of the Rehabilitation Department.

The Cardiac Outpatient Clinic
The Cardiac Outpatient Clinic offers services to the public who are seeking cardiovascular assessment either through self referral or referral by their personal physicians. Patients are seen either by cardiologists or cardiac surgeons.

The clinic also handles the care of patients after pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, as well as following cardiac surgery.
 
The Coronary and Cardiac Care Unit
The Coronary and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit is a six-bedded unit that provides support for patients with critical care needs. These include acute coronary syndrome, cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure or hypertension, as well as patients who are post myocardial infarction, post cardiac interventions, and post cardiac surgery.

The unit is staffed by a team of highly skilled multidisciplinary professionals who provide high quality healthcare to patients of all ages.
 
The Cardiac Non-invasive Laboratory
The Cardiac Non-invasive Laboratory offers full diagnostic services performed on an outpatient and inpatient basis. Techniques employed include:

  • Trans-thoracic echocardiography is a non-invasive diagnostic examination using a hand held transducer on the chest wall for diagnosis of valvular disease, left ventricular dysfunction, congenital heart disease, detection of thrombi, and pericardial effusion or tamponade.
  • Trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) involves the patient swallowing a gastroscope (with a transducer on the end) into the esophagus. It is used to assess the functioning of prosthetic valves, examine the heart for endocarditis, and to evaluate valvular heart disease and congenital abnormalities. Intra-operative TEE is the assessment of the heart during cardiac surgery.
     
  • Contrast echocardiography involves the rapid injection of agitated saline/specific contrast agent intravenously into a peripheral vessel while simultaneously performing an echocardiogram. It is used to assess intra-cardiac structures and is mainly used for diagnosis of congenital anomalies and abnormal flow patterns.
  • Stress testing is performed on a treadmill to assess patients with coronary risk factors and chest pain to rule out coronary artery disease. It is also used to assess exercise induced arrythmias. Stress echocardiograms ultrasound pictures of the heart are obtained before and after exercising, either on the treadmill or by dobutamine infusion, to look for evidence of previous heart muscle damage, and to locate areas of the heart muscle that have impaired blood supply.
  • Nuclear diagnostic imaging is a test that combines stress testing with radionuclide imaging to evaluate coronary blood flow to the heart muscle, and its function using a chemical agent or exercise.  It is normally used for patients who are unable to exercise due to disability from medical conditions or old age.
  • Holter Monitoring is a device worn by the patient over 24-48 hours for continuous recording of the heart rhythm. ECG wires are attached on the chest and connected to the recorder. Analysis of the recordings, correlated with the symptoms written in a diary, provides information about problems with the heart’s rhythm.
  • Trans-telephonic ECG monitoring uses a device provided to the patient for 4 weeks to record and store their ECG waveforms whenever symptoms occur. The patient transmits the data over the telephone to the Receiving Station, where the ECG waveform is analyzed by a physician.
  • Pacemaker and ICD checking and reprogramming: After initial implant, regular follow-ups of the patient are conducted by the physician to determine the remaining battery life and function of the device. These devices may require reprogramming as dictated by change in the patient’s clinical condition.

Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
There are two cardiac catheterization laboratories with state of the art technological equipment that allows cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons to view images from specific locations within the hospital and their offices located in the clinic, facilitating rapid consultation and decision-making. This service is available 24 hours a day. Techniques employed include:

  • Diagnostic catheterization.
  • Ventriculography.
  • Coronary angiography.
  • Peripheral vascular angiography, including renal arteriography, thoracic and abdominal aortography and angiography of the lower extremities.
  • Electrophysiology studies.


 
Cardiac Rehabilitation Services
Cardiac Rehabilitation Services are provided by the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation equipped with a state of the art rehabilitation gymnasium. The rehabilitation team works with the cardiologist and the patients during hospitalization and continues through outpatient services.

Patients that benefit from cardiac rehabilitation therapy are post cardiac surgery, post coronary interventions, post myocardial infarction, and patients with stable angina. The team is dedicated to assisting the patient towards adopting a healthier lifestyle through education, nutritional counseling, and progressive exercise.

The Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Department

The Cardio-Thoracic Department offers an up to date service in surgical treatment of disorders affecting the heart, aorta, great vessels, and lungs. The department has expanded the scope of surgery with new highly qualified Board Certified surgeons. Advanced techniques in coronary re-vascularization are performed. These include traditional open-heart minimal invasive coronary bypass surgery, valve replacements, complete arterial re-vascularization, and endoscopic vein harvesting.

Beating heart surgery is a new technique, which is preferred in selected patients and allows the surgeon to do bypass grafting without using the heart lung machine. This technique reduces the risk of stroke and complications post operatively
 
Valvular Surgery: The team of surgeons has performed many types of aortic, tricuspid, and mitral valve surgery.

Interventional procedures employed include:

  • Coronary and peripheral balloon angioplasty.
  • Coronary artery stenting.
  • Mitral and pulmonary balloon valvuloplasties, which is employed on adults as an alternative to surgical commissurotomy or valve replacement in mitral stenosis.
  • Transcatheter occlusion of atrial septal defects.
  • Cardiac pacing and implantation of pacemakers and defibrillators.
  • Radio-frequency ablations.

The cardiac catheterization team includes certified nurses and technicians who are specially trained in cardiovascular diagnostic and interventional procedures. They work in conjunction with the cardiologists to provide a high standard of patient care during these procedures. The team is available 24 hours and can be assembled within 30 minutes for any cardiac emergency procedures.