Dubai: Aster Hospital, Al Qusais has achieved a significant milestone with 501 cardiothoracic surgical procedures performed in 20 months, between November 2024 and July 2026, with zero mortality in elective surgeries during the period. The achievement spans cardiac, aortic, thoracic surgeries & endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs, including complex, high-risk and emergency cases, reinforcing the hospital’s growing capabilities in advanced cardiothoracic surgical care in the UAE.

The milestone comes against a significant cardiovascular health burden in the UAE. According to Zurich International Life’s UAE claims data for 2023–2025, heart attacks and strokes accounted for 41% of death claims, highlighting the importance of timely access to advanced cardiac care and complex cardiovascular interventions.[1]

The 501 procedures comprised 352 cardiac surgeries, 14 aortic procedures, 90 thoracic procedures, 7 Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repairs (EVAR), and 38 other procedures, covering elective, emergency and high-risk cases.

Commenting on the achievement, Dr. Sherbaz Bichu, CEO – Aster Hospital & Clinics, UAE, Oman & Bahrain, said, “A number like 501 is easy to state and hard to earn. Zero mortality in elective surgeries is not the achievement of one operating list — it is the outcome of hundreds of decisions taken correctly, before, during and after every case. Having spent years on the anaesthesia side of the operating table, I have always believed a great surgical outcome is never the surgeon’s alone; it belongs equally to the anaesthetist watching every heartbeat, the intensivist managing the first critical hours, and the nurse at the bedside through the night. That is the culture Dr. Sandeep Srivastava, Dr. Shipra Srivastava and their multidisciplinary team have built at Al Qusais, and it is the culture we intend to scale across Aster. Future for cardiac sciences here could be advancing into — robotic-assisted cardiac surgery, structural heart interventions and a dedicated heart-failure and transplant programme, supported by AI-driven risk prediction — excellence will remain, for us, not a milestone we mark once, but a standard we keep resetting.”

A defining strength of the programme is its expertise in 100% Beating-Heart coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). All CABGs were performed on the beating heart, with 47.08% undertaken as total arterial bypass surgeries. The team has expertise across arterial graft configurations including I, Y, T, Lambda and K grafts, alongside advanced coronary anastomosis techniques. Multiple coronary endarterectomies have also been performed for diffuse coronary artery disease, while critical left main coronary disease was present in nearly one-third of CABG patients.

Dr. Sandeep Srivastava, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Aster Hospital, Al Qusais, said, “The significance of 501 cases goes beyond the number—every case represents a patient, a family and a responsibility. Our 100% beating-heart CABG approach, total arterial bypass expertise and experience in complex coronary and aortic interventions reflect our commitment to providing the most appropriate surgical solution for every patient. We will continue to advance minimally invasive and complex cardiac surgery, with ambitions to build towards robotic surgery, heart transplantation and LVAD programmes.”

The team has managed challenging complications of acute myocardial infarction, including ventricular septal rupture, free-wall cardiac rupture, papillary muscle rupture, acute mitral regurgitation with pulmonary oedema and acute aortic regurgitation, while also performing valve repairs in advanced rheumatic mitral valve disease. A particularly complex case involved acute aortic dissection requiring repair of three heart valves along with aortic root replacement, demonstrating the programme’s ability to manage life-threatening aortic and valvular disease with excellence.

Dr. Shipra Srivastava, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Aster Hospital, Al Qusais, said, “Complex cardiac surgery requires technical precision, sound judgement and seamless teamwork, particularly when the stakes are highest. Successfully repairing three heart valves with aortic root replacement in acute aortic dissection reflects our ability to manage highly complex cardiac and valvular conditions. Ultimately, the most meaningful part of this milestone is what lies behind the statistics - the patients who return to their families, with lives extended and hope restored. Our expertise in repairing complex heart valves, especially rheumatic valves goes ahead of the curve in not only proficiency in technique but also to strive to preserve the natural valves of patients and give them anticoagulation free life which is associated with high risk of stroke and or bleed.

The hospital has also developed a strong Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (MICS) programme alongside its thoracic surgery programme, which accounted for 90 procedures. Its cardiothoracic services are supported by structured pre-, intra- and post-operative protocols, advanced infrastructure and technology, and a multidisciplinary team spanning surgery, anaesthesia, critical care, nursing and allied services.

Elective CABG outcomes have been particularly strong, with zero mortality and zero stroke, while 87.08% of elective CABG patients had an ICU stay of three days or less. The mean CABG patient age was 53.3 years, ranging from 32 to 82 years, with only eight female patients in the cohort.75.22% patient who underwent total arterial CABG went home without any blood transfusion.

The milestone reflects the combined expertise of Dr. Sandeep Srivastava and Dr. Shipra Srivastava across coronary, valve, aortic, minimally invasive and thoracic surgery, supported by the wider clinical team. Looking ahead, Aster Hospital, Al Qusais is preparing the next phase of its cardiac sciences journey, with plans to introduce robotic-assisted cardiac surgery, structural heart and transcatheter valve interventions, and a dedicated heart transplantation and LVAD programme. The hospital is also investing in enabling technology for this next chapter, including hybrid operating theatres, 3D-printed anatomical modelling to plan complex aortic and valve-repair cases, and AI-assisted risk-prediction tools to support surgical decision-making in high-risk patients.

The 501 procedures performed in just 20 months represent more than surgical volume. They reflect clinical expertise, innovation, teamwork and a commitment to giving patients another opportunity at life and families renewed hope. The zero-mortality figure applies specifically to elective surgeries performed between November 2024 and July 2026; the overall 501 procedures include elective, emergency, complex and high-risk cases across cardiac, aortic, thoracic surgeries & endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs.