For the first time in the UAE, a heart operation for coronary heart disease was successfully conducted at Al Qassimi Hospital cardiac centre by a robot. The operation was successfully conducted on a 62-year-old Emirati man from Fujairah on Nov 27.

Abdel Rahman Bin Mohamed Al Owais, Minister of Health, said that Sheikh Khalifa allocated Dhs54 million to Al Qassimi Hospital, contributing to introducing the robot system for the first time and out of the USA.

“Sheikh Khalifa offers endless support to enhance the medical services to the Emiratis and residents and the technique adopted in conducting the open heart operation using the robot is an important and unique milestone and we are playing a pioneering role in the heart surgeries not only in the UAE but worldwide.” He also praised the role His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who is always keen on enhancing and upgrading medical services and His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who always aims to improve services rendered to their patients.

Dr Arif Al Noryani, the CEO of Al Qassimi Hospital, said that this is considered to be a first-of-its-kind operation to be conducted without opening the chest. It causes no pain and does not leave a scar, with only four 5mm holes. The patient can leave the hospital 3-4 days after conducting the operation.

When asked about the technique adopted during the operation, he said: “It’s a very complex procedure where the operator stays 5 metres away from the patient and using a remote, the operation is conducted from a distance using four robotic arms.”

Dr Noryani added that the operation is very precise and less complicated and has a high success rate not less than that of the classic approach. He added that the doctor has to assess and determine wether it’s suitable for each patient or not.


“The cost of the operation is around Dhs300,000 to 500,000 equivalent to around $150,000.” “The team that conducted the operation was supported by a Belgium team in collaboration with our current team at the cardiac centre and it was headed by Dr Rafiq Abu Samra, head of the cardio centre.”The initiative of offering the system costing Dhs13 million was sponsored and funded by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE president and the government .

Dr Mohamed Salim Al Alama, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, said that the robot technique for open heart surgery is the first of its kind to be implemented in the Arab world and that the robot unit at Al Qassimi Hospital ranks 20th worldwide, and the first of its kind out of the US.

Dr. Yousef Al Serkal, Undersecretary Assistant for hospitals sector, said that the operation conducted recently at Al Qassimi Hospital proves the success and proficiency of cardiac doctors in the hospital.
“This technique can be conducted on 90 per cent of patients suffering from narrowing of the coronary artery, except for valve treatments. The team is familiar with the technique, and with the increase in the number of patients, it will help refine their skills and decrease operation time which the team is currently working on,” he added.