One year of Operation for the Cardiac Innovation Center
The Cardiac Innovation Center of Apollonion Private Hospital celebrates its first year of operation on July 15th. On this day one year ago, our team performed the first operation, a Bypass operation without the use of extracorporeal circulation, on a beating heart.
Our center was founded in the largest private hospital of our island, to fill a big gap in the care of patients with congenital heart diseases. Also to offer quality care to patients with simple but also complex acquired heart diseases (coronary disease, valvular diseases, aneurysms, arrhythmias, etc.), many of whom have been waiting a long time to be operated on.
The Cardiac Innovation Center of Apollonion Private Hospital covers a wide range of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery as well as almost all Adult Cardiac Surgery procedures with the exception of transplants and artificial heart implantation.
Despite the short time of its existence in the Cypriot medical scene, with the 215 operations carried out since then, it has managed to establish itself as the largest cardiac surgery center on the island.
In this year we had the privilege of celebrating many medical firsts in our Cyprus, such as the first operations for complex congenital heart diseases in children and adults, the first pulmonary valve operations (12 so far), the first mitral valve repairs and the first minimally invasive atrial fusion methods, the first aortic valve repairs with the David method, the first Ross operation for aortic valve replacement, etc.
Our center at Apollonion Private Hospital is equipped with modern medical equipment, according to German standards, and can, through the GeSY and the close and impeccable cooperation with the Ministry of Health, offer quality care and excellent consumables. Emphasis is placed on the patient having the smallest possible surgical trauma and the shortest possible recovery.
Great emphasis is also placed on extracorporeal circulation techniques, on saving the patients’ blood as well as their quick exit from sedation and the ventilator and their quick mobilization. Clinical studies have shown how important this is for the rapid and complete recovery of patients.
We note that every patient in our clinic receives state-of-the-art and excellent hemodynamic performance and durability valves and the best prosthetic materials available worldwide, without any discrimination, without any extra cost. The availability of the best consumables is greater than the clinics in Germany.
All cardiac surgeries are performed by the Cardiac Innovation Center team consisting of cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthetists, cardiac intensivists, extracorporeal specialists (extracorporeal circulation system technicians), specially trained nursing staff in the operating room, the intensive care unit as well as in the stations, physiotherapists, etc.
There is also a regular presence of pediatric cardiologists-pediatric intensivists from Germany to ensure all safety measures for children intraoperatively. There is an excellent and fruitful partnership with the Kinderherzen Foundation for the continuous training and support of our hospital staff for pediatric cases. This collaboration also made possible the treatment of two infants from Romania with serious congenital heart diseases at our center.
Our surgical results are excellent and can compare equally with major reference centers abroad.
The Cyprus Healthcare Business Awards awarded our center with honorary awards in the categories: Innovative equipment or medical service (gold), Innovative hospital department (gold), Strategic emphasis and collaboration in internationalization, research, innovative products or medical services (silver).
The close cooperation with the entire cardiology community of the island, particularly with the cardiac team of Apollonion, is of extreme importance. Especially with the interventional cardiology team of Apollonion, under the auspices of the excellent interventional cardiologist Dr. Georgiou, hybrid operations were possible which were extremely high risk with great success. This collaboration, within the framework of a cardiac team, ensures the ideal therapeutic method for each individual patient and gives greater possibilities of success in every case.
We are close to babies, little patients but also to all ages, to those who need us. To little and big hearts. With absolute respect for our patients and their families. Humanly. With honesty. And always with absolute transparency, within the framework of the GeSY, without the additional burden on the patient and the health system.