SKMC Cardiac Surgeons Use 3D Printing to Save UAE's Children

Pioneering Paediatric Cardiac Program Head Says ‘Virtual Operation’ Technology is Speeding Surgical Times and Saving Lives

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) hospital is now employing 3D medical image-based engineering to rehearse complex operations, speeding surgical times and saving lives, says one of its top heart doctors.

The SKMC Paediatric Cardiac Program works seamlessly with a Belgian-based technology provider to deliver patient-specific treatments to the people of Abu Dhabi, with the company’s 3D printed models greatly aiding the diagnostics of surgery.

Preoperative planning sessions typically involve several medical professionals consulting with one another, often by telephone from Abu Dhabi, Brussels, and Kuala Lumpur.

“Preoperative planning will never be the same,” said Dr. Laszlo Kiraly, Consultant and Division Head, Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at SKMC which is managed by Cleveland Clinic and is a part of the SEHA HealthSystem.

“We now completely rehearse what we want to do, and we do it in a pressure-free environment that allows us to draw on global experience from around the world. This 3D engineering has made our team not only more confident but more effective, as we are now speeding surgical times and saving lives.”

Dr. Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Consultant Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist at SKMC, added: “The first paediatric cardiac surgery assisted by 3D printed models in the UAE was performed by our team in June of this year, and it has become an important modality in our profession.”

The patient was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), where the left ventricle of the heart is very underdeveloped and unable to pump blood to the body. Without surgical intervention, HLHS is fatal. After an initial surgery in the girl’s first weeks of life, she underwent a second stage of surgery at five months old, with surgeons using the lifesaving 3D technology in preparation.

Complex congenital heart diseases such as HLHS demand the best quality of medical imaging for the planning of paediatric open-heart surgery, Dr. Alsheikh-Ali, who is the Chair of the Cardiac Sciences Institute at the hospital, continued.

“The life-size, printed 3D true model of the heart is used to plan intricate, detailed steps of the operation, and this translates into improved patient safety and outcomes. This novel technology has additional potential for teaching of young doctors and medical students.”

The Institute of Cardiac Sciences at SKMC offers cardiac care to patients from the neonatal stage to adulthood. SKMC’s paediatric cardiology program, which was rolled out in April of 2007, is a referral centre for the region. For the paediatric patient population, it provides a paediatric cardiac operating room, an intensive care unit, and a high dependency unit, among other services.