Dubai · 3 April 2018
Honoured by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Winner, 21st Dubai Government Excellence Program — Innovation Category — presented by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Winner, 21st Dubai Government Excellence Program — Innovation Category — presented by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Awarded by the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery for the Adjustable DUBAI Artificial Chord for mitral repair.
Patent No. 9386 (2011) — Safadi Mitral Retractor & Adjustable Sliding Stitch. Patent No. 11576 (2018) — Dubai surgical set, knot pusher & hook instrument.
A method that changed how the length of artificial chordae is set in mitral valve repair — one of the most delicate judgements in cardiac surgery.
When a mitral valve leaks because its supporting chords have ruptured or elongated, the repair replaces them with fine PTFE neochords. The historic difficulty is fixing their length: a millimetre too long or too short and the leaflets fail to meet. Dr. Safadi's answer is an adjustable sliding loop — the neochord is anchored between leaflet and papillary muscle, then finely adjusted on the beating, tested valve until coaptation is perfect, without resecting leaflet tissue.
The technique makes repair fast, reproducible and precise, applies to single or multiple prolapsing segments, and is fully compatible with minimally invasive and video-assisted (VATS) approaches. It is supported by purpose-designed instruments — the patented knot pusher and hook — developed and applied clinically in Dubai.
Adjustable artificial-chord repair — the Safadi Sliding Stitch — including complex, Barlow and re-do valves, via sternotomy or right mini-thoracotomy.
Video-assisted and minimal-access approaches to valve and coronary surgery, trained across Belgium, Italy, France and Ukraine (TCRAT).
Bilateral internal mammary artery grafting as routine practice — LIMA to LAD, RIMA to circumflex — for durable coronary reconstruction.
Anterior annulus enlargement by the Safadi Simplified Technique (modified Konno) — solving the small aortic root without aortoventriculoplasty.
Aortic arch dissection repair under continuous cerebral perfusion during circulatory arrest; recognised for excellence in complex dissection surgery.
Left-ventricular aneurysm reconstruction, ischemic VSD, and structural reconstruction after extensive endocarditis.
Università degli Studi di Siena.
Cardiovascular & thoracic surgery under Pr. Baehrel at Reims University Hospital, then under Pr. Guilmet at the Foch Medical Center, Paris. French DIS in Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery, Université de Reims, 1990.
Post-training cardiovascular fellowship in Pr. Guilmet's department — including exposure to cardiac transplantation and thoraco-abdominal aortic surgery.
Successive senior posts at Middle East Hospital, Barbir, Rizk, Makassed General Hospital and Clinique du Levant — over 1,900 operations across the period, establishing bilateral-mammary total arterial CABG as routine.
More than 500 operations; led the advanced Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery programme, built international partnerships, and developed the Dubai Technique with its instruments and simulators.
DHA honours for the Dubai Sliding Stitch; UAE Ideas Conference; "You're Our Pride" award from H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid; the Dubai Government Excellence Program award from H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid; the ISMICS Subramanian Innovation Award in Vancouver.
NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Nahda (Dubai) and NMC Royal Hospital (Sharjah) — continuing clinical practice, programme building and international teaching.
Artificial Chordae in Mitral Valve Repair — New Technique Making It Fast, Easy & Accurate
The Heart Surgery Forum, Vol. 15, Suppl. 1 · 2012 — the founding paper of the Sliding Stitch
Surgical Aspect of Double Valve Replacement in Patients with Small Annuli
The Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol. 57, Suppl. 1/3 · 2016
Is baseline cerebral oximetry a better predictor than carotid scan for postoperative delirium in cardiac surgery?
Journal of the Saudi Heart Association · 2017
Factor VII deficiency: do all need replacement for cardiac surgery?
Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals · 2017
Licensed Consultant in Cardiothoracic Surgery — DHA DHA-P-0027382 · MOH 7VL60HU3.
Amman Street, next to Bait Al Khair Building — open 24 hours.
Al Zahra Street, near Clock Tower — open 24 hours.