More than 16 thousand stents and unique valve surgeries: Andrey Pristrom on the achievements of the RSPC of "Cardiology"

Strong scientific and human resources potential

The Center has a significant scientific resource, which includes one academician, 17 doctors and 48 candidates of sciences. The total number of employees exceeds 900, of which 200 are doctors. An important indicator of the quality of personnel is that more than 90% of doctors have qualification categories, and over 60% of them have higher qualifications.

"We provide outpatient consultations to patients with rare pathology from all regions," noted Andrey Pristrom. Last year, such assistance was provided to 26,000 people.

Unique divisions and the growth of surgery volumes

A special place in the center's structure is occupied by the Republican Pulmonary Hypertension Center, the only specialized unit in the country for the treatment and monitoring of patients with this severe diagnosis.

The total number of cardiac surgeries is increasing annually. A significant impetus to the development was given by the opening in 2023 of a new diagnostic operating intensive care unit in 2023, that so-called hybrid surgery corps. It performs the most complex operations that combine several interventions into one procedure.

Breakthrough technologies and exponential growth

Endovascular surgery has become routine: more than 16,000 stents were performed last year. At the same time, the center is actively developing methods unique to the country, demonstrating explosive growth in them — from 300% to 500% in recent years.

We are talking about such advanced interventions as:
– TAVI (transcatheter implantation of the aortic valve);
– MitraClip (restoration of the mitral valve through the vessels);
– AccuCinch technology (reduction of the left ventricular cavity);
– High-precision operations for the treatment of arrhythmias using navigation systems.

"Today, we perform absolutely the entire range of operations that are performed in any arrhythmological center anywhere in the world," the director emphasized.

At the same time, the center not only accumulates competencies, but also trains personnel for the whole country: proven technologies and techniques are transferred to regional and inter-district medical institutions.

Thousands of patients receive treatment at the center's hospital every year. Last year, 5,700 people were treated, a significant part of whom are residents of all regions of Belarus, which confirms the republican status of the institution. Heart transplants are also successfully performed in the country on the basis of the center.