Post-Operative Care is Critical to Success for Transplant Patients, say Experts

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Intensive Care Unit Playing Key Role in Recovery Journey

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is continuing to enhance its intensive care facilities, with a particular focus on post-operative critical care for transplant patients, recognizing the developing need within the country.

At the heart of the hospital’s transplant program has been the development of pre-transplant, transplant and post-transplant procedure care procedures, to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients.

Since the launch of the program in 2017, physicians have successfully completed live and deceased kidney transplant operations; the UAE’s first full heart transplant in December 2017 and a lung and liver transplant in February 2018.

“One of the most important steps for the success of an organ transplant procedure is the post-surgery care to make sure the body doesn’t reject the organ,” explains Dr. Fadi Hamed, a pulmonologist and critical care physician who heads the intensive care unit (ICU), which plays a key role in the crucial days and weeks after transplant surgery.

Patients are monitored closely while in the ICU, with the length of their stay determined by their specific condition. The team plays a key role in monitoring and sustaining patients in the days following their transplant surgery, ensuring they avoid any infections and reducing the risk of rejection.

“Transplant patients begin their journey of recovery in the ICU,” said Dr. Hamed. “We are one of the biggest ICUs in the Middle East with 72 beds and our comprehensive, multidisciplinary team consists of intensivists, nurses, clinical pharmacists, physical therapists, respiratory technicians, social workers and other specialists – all of them trained in the critical care of transplant patients.”

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi launched its transplant program less than three years after opening its doors in March 2015, investing significantly in recruiting transplant physicians and support staff, building facilities and ensuring a complete pre- and post-operative program was in place.

Dr. Bashir Sankari, the head of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s transplant program and Chief of the Surgical Subspecialties Institute, said the hospital was ready to complete more transplant surgeries every year, depending on demand and availability of donors.

“Our aim in boosting the number of organ transplant surgeries is to improve patients’ lives and their quality of life,” said Dr. Sankari. “This ensures that we provide our patients with truly world-class healthcare closer to home.”

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi builds on the world-class reputation of the Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center in Ohio where, in 2017, 700 solid organ transplants, including 21 pediatric transplant procedures, were conducted. Each year, thousands of lives are saved and transformed because of Cleveland Clinic innovation and expertise.