Tribune News NetworkDohaSidra Medicine showcased its latest surgical and clinical research milestones at the Paediatric & Congenital Interventional Cardiac Symposium (PICS) which was held from September 7 to 10 in Chicago, the USA. PICS is an annual symposium featuring live operations and the latest research breakthroughs in interventional cardiology for congenital and structural heart disease. Prof Ziyad M Hijazi, chief medical officer at Sidra Medicine, who is also the president of the PICS Society and director of the PICS Symposium, said: “I am very proud at the milestones the Heart Center at Sidra Medicine has achieved. Our life saving and pioneering treatment programmes have not only changed the lives of our patients in Qatar but from across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We were happy to share updates about our programmes for patients with Congenital Heart Disease, with over 700 interventional cardiologists from more than 60 countries at PICS.”“The strength of some of our healthcare and research programmes has positioned Sidra Medicine as a ground-breaking healthcare provider that is leading the way in patient care. In fact, one of our successful valve implantation programme is now being considered by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States for a trial in the US following its successful CE certification in April 2022,” continued Prof Hijazi.In his ongoing mission to implement minimally invasive procedures for CHD patients and to drive forward Sidra Medicine’s clinical research agenda, Prof Hijazi has been the Global Principal Investigator for a consortium of international cardiac interventionists to evaluate the Venus P-valve. The valve addresses the needs of a large majority of CHD patients who are unable to benefit from existing minimally-invasive valve implants.Qatar was one of the first partner countries in the Middle East to implement the Venus P-valve in 2017. In the trial, the Heart Center at Sidra Medicine has successfully implanted the Venus P-valve in nine CHD patients, ranging from ages 14 to 40 years. A global certification of the valve will help save the lives of thousands of CHD patients worldwide who no longer have to undergo open-heart surgery as the only option to treat their condition.“Sidra Medicine is committed to ensuring that we never stop exploring new treatment and technologies that can ease the care and cure for our patients with CHD. Our ability to offer and share our knowledge on such procedures in Qatar, is also thanks to the continued support of The Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation.We are currently establishing collaborative paediatric cardiology research and clinical programmes with partners across Europe, the USA and China,” concluded Prof. Hijazi.
