RIYADH — At his office in Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman welcomed the Saudi medical team that carried out the first totally robotic heart transplant in history. In September 2024, the medical staff at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh successfully employed a robot to conduct the first heart transplant in history on a 16-year-old patient with end-stage heart failure. After weeks of careful planning, a superb medical team led by renowned Saudi cardiac surgeon Dr. Feras Khaliel, head of Cardiac Surgery and director of the Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery Program at KFSHRC, carried out the two-and-a-half-hour transplant procedure.
KFSHRC CEO Dr. Majed Al-Fayyadh, Deputy CEO Dr. Björn Zoega, and Chairman of the Board of Directors Mazen Al-Rumaih were also present for the meeting with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince praised the Saudi team’s capabilities and their ability to innovate and accomplish an unprecedented feat internationally in the medical field, which helps to improve human health in the Kingdom and around the world. He also congratulated the medical team and the KFSHRC leaders on the historic achievement during the reception.
The medical team members conveyed their delight and honor at meeting the Crown Prince. They emphasized that the kind gift is a motivator for attaining greater achievement in the medical sector and thanked the Crown Prince for his ongoing support. The medical team’s leader, Dr. Feras Khaliel, emphasized that being awarded the Crown Prince is a motivating factor for them to continue serving the country and humanity.
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