Physicians at the Children’s Heart Center at The American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) performed a ground-breaking procedure, a first of its kind in the world, when they closed a rupture in a child’s aorta without resorting to surgery, using an umbrella-like Amplatzer device delivered through catheterization.
This procedure and other major research findings by Directors of The Congenital Heart Disease Genetics Program at AUB, Drs. George Nemer and Fadi Bitar were discussed at one of the major conferences discussing pediatric cardiac diseases in the region, the Beirut International Congress of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology, held from October 18th – 20th, 2012 at the “Bathish” Auditorium – West Hall at AUB. In their paper Dr. Nemer and Dr. Bitar discussed the discovery of the “NFATCI” gene, the first such discovery in the field, which causes defects in heart valves.
More than 35 pioneers in their field, hailing from the Arab world, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and the United States of America, participated in the conference.
Sponsored by the Pan-Arab Congenital Heart Disease Association (PACHDA) and organized by the Children’s Heart Center at AUBMC, the conference was distinguished for its rich scientific program, comprising of, in addition to discussions on recent clinical and genetic research studies and lectures revolving around recent diagnosis developments of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), pre-congress workshops on “Fetal Echocardiography” and the treatment of CHD through surgery and catheterization.
The opening ceremony for the conference and the Medical Equipment Exhibit on October 18th was attended by the President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians Dr. Charaf Abou Charaf, President of PACHDA Dr. Riyadh Abu-Sulaiman, and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh.
In his opening speech, Congress Chair, Director of the Children’s Heart Center and the Associate Dean for External Medical Affairs at AUB, Dr. Fadi Bitar, reiterated Lebanon’s pioneering role in “hosting and presenting advanced research developments and providing high quality healthcare,” taking pride in AUB’s role specifically, in hosting this international conference amid these turbulent and crucial times sweeping over the region.
