{"id":4152,"date":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.alj3.clients.lemonhq.io\/?post_type=pressrelease&#038;p=4152"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:00:46","slug":"first-operation-completed-as-ministry-of-health-heart-surgery-procedure-to-save-more-lives-in-the-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"pressrelease","link":"https:\/\/cms.alj3.clients.lemonhq.io\/en\/news\/first-operation-completed-as-ministry-of-health-heart-surgery-procedure-to-save-more-lives-in-the-kingdom\/","title":{"rendered":"First operation completed as Ministry of Health &#038; Abdul Latif Jameel Health pioneer AVNeo&#x2122; heart surgery procedure to save more lives in the Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First operation using the pioneering AVNeo\u2122 technique successfully completed in Saudi Arabia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The innovative technique is an alternative to artificial aortic valve replacement using the patient\u2019s own tissue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The technique is suitable for all age groups including children and may reduce the need for future surgery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An educational webinar, was held on March 17, 2022, providing a case study presentation of the first AVNeo\u2122 procedure in Saudi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the pioneering collaboration announced in April 2021, between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moh.gov.sa\/en\">Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/aljhealth.com\">Abdul Latif Jameel Health<\/a>, to introduce the innovative <a href=\"https:\/\/avneo.net\/en\/understand\/\">AVNeo\u2122<\/a> (<strong>A<\/strong>ortic <strong>V<\/strong>alve <strong>Neo<\/strong>cuspidization), &nbsp;procedure for the surgical reconstruction of the aortic heart valve, the first Saudi surgeons have completed training and performed the first operation in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Abdul-Latif-Jameel-Health-AVNeo-First-Procedure-in-Saudi-Arabia-EN-VO-Subs.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The operation was performed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/khalid-eskander-73882732\/\">Dr. Khaled Eskander<\/a> at the <a href=\"https:\/\/sbccmed.com\/en\/homepage\/\">Saud Babtin Cardiac Center<\/a>, with the attendance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/adel-tash-86a6276b\/\">Dr. Adel Tash<\/a> and the international proctor<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alberto-albertini-87873167\/\"> Professor Alberto Albertini<\/a>, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery Division at Maria Cecilia Hospital who attended from Italy, to consult on AVNeo\u2122 cases in Saudi. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/avneo.net\/en\/understand\/\">AVNeo\u2122<\/a>, provided by the Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development (<a href=\"https:\/\/jomdd.com\/\">JOMDD<\/a>), is a standardized revolutionary procedural technique suitable for all age groups. According to medical studies, patients receiving the procedure will not be required to continue taking medication six months post-surgery. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developed by Professor Shigeyuki Ozaki, the procedure uses the patient\u2019s autologous pericardium, in the aortic valve reconstruction. &nbsp;Over the past 10 years, more than 5,000 cases have been performed globally. According to the latest data available (2018), Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the survival rate \u201c<em>after 10 years was 85.9% for AVNeo\u2122<\/em>\u201d compared to less than 80% for alternative procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this first Saudi Arabian operation, the patient was a 56 year-old male, with a history of heavy smoking suffering from rheumatic severe aortic valve stenosis. &nbsp;The AVNeo\u2122 \u2018sizer\u2019 kit was used to replace the aortic valve with a new reconstructed one using the patient\u2019s own pericardium tissue. The surgery went well with very good result based on post-surgery echocardiogram readings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the World Health Organization (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/health-topics\/cardiovascular-diseases#tab=tab_1\">WHO<\/a>), cardiovascular diseases accounts for 32% of all deaths worldwide and over three quarters of these take place in low-and middle-income countries. Cardiovascular disease deaths are among the main causes of premature death in Saudi Arabia. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the 17 million premature deaths (under the age of 70) due to noncommunicable diseases in 2019, 38% were caused by cardiovascular disease.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A timeline of AVNeo in Saudi Arabia:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>April 2021:<\/strong> A memorandum of understanding (<a href=\"https:\/\/aljhealth.com\/en\/news\/ministry-of-health-and-abdul-latif-jameel-health-first-in-gcc-to-introduce-pioneering-av-neo-heart-surgery-technique-to-address-major-cause-of-premature-death\/\">MOU<\/a>) was signed between <a href=\"https:\/\/alj-enterprises.com\/about-us\/our-team\/\"> Faisal Al Samannoud<\/a>i, Chairman &amp; CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/alj-enterprises.com\/our-solutions\/healthcare-solutions\/\">Abdul Latif Jameel Enterprises<\/a> and Mrs. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/najlaa-omran-kateb-86b29617\/?originalSubdomain=sa\">Najlaa Kateb<\/a>, Director General, Innovation Center, at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health. The MOU included many aspects of introducing the procedure to the country including the process to certify the first wave of Ministry of Health surgeons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>December 2021:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The AVNeo\u2122 kit was registered by the Saudi Food &amp; Drug Authority (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfda.gov.sa\/en\">SFDA<\/a>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>First certification training wave of Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health surgeons commences in Italy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>February 2, 2022:<\/strong> First AVNeo\u2122 procedure takes place in Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>February-March 2022:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Second certification training wave in Italy commences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>March 2022:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Third certification training wave in Egypt commences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>An educational webinar, jointly hosted by the <a href=\"https:\/\/saudi-heart.com\/\">Saudi Heat Association<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moh.gov.sa\/en\/\">Ministry of Health<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/aljhealth.com\">Abdul Latif Jameel Health<\/a> was conducted on <strong>March 17, 2022<\/strong>, providing a case study presentation of the first AVNeo\u2122 procedure in Saudi Arabia and attended by over 80 physicians from around the country and internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Local and international speakers include the surgery team from the first Saudi procedure, (Dr. Khaled Eskander , Dr. Adel Tash, and Prof. Alberto Albertini). &nbsp;The webinar is accredited from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scfhs.org.sa\/en\/Pages\/default.aspx\">Saudi Commission for Health Specialties<\/a> with a credit of one CME hour (continuous medical education).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-4152","pressrelease","type-pressrelease","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>First operation completed as Ministry of Health &amp; Abdul Latif Jameel Health pioneer AVNeo&#x2122; heart surgery procedure to save more lives in the Kingdom - Abdul Latif Jameel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First operation completed as Ministry of Health &amp; Abdul Latif Jameel Health pioneer AVNeo&#x2122; heart surgery procedure to save more lives in the Kingdom - Abdul Latif Jameel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following the pioneering collaboration announced in April 2021, between the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health, and Abdul Latif Jameel Health, to introduce the innovative AVNeo\u2122 (Aortic Valve Neocuspidization), &nbsp;procedure for the surgical reconstruction of the aortic heart valve, the first Saudi surgeons have completed training and performed the first operation in February 2022. 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