ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has announced Dr. Hani Najm, Chair of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, US, as the winner of the first Great Arab Minds (GAM) award in the medicine category, in recognition of his outstanding contributions and innovations in his field, having performed over 10,000 successful heart operations on patients with complex heart conditions.
Dr. Najm, the US-based Saudi surgeon, has been awarded the Great Arab Minds Award in Medicine in recognition of his outstanding contributions and pioneering innovations in the field of heart surgery for children and adults. Having performed more than 10.000 heart operations on patients with complex heart conditions with outstanding outcomes.
A key highlight of his work is the development of a gradually self-expanding heart "valve" for children, sparing them the need for repeated surgery for valve replacement. Dr. Najm is also recognized for developing a novel surgical technique, termed the "ventricular switch, to repair one of the most complex congenital heart conditions in children. Dr. Najm was the lead heart surgeon in a large team that performed a rare and complex lifesaving surgery to remove a heart tumor in a 26-week-old fetus.