Month: June 2023

Vital equipment for a child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) was provided by the Clinic for Maternal and Child Health ‘Mom and Me’ Pleven. The child is one year and eight months old and his care is taken personally by Dr. Velimir Simov – head of the pediatric clinic, and his colleague Dr. Ignat Gramatikov – anesthesiologist.

“The girl suffers from spinal muscular atrophy type 1.  SMA is an autonomic recessive genetic disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. About 160 patients have been diagnosed with this rare disease in Bulgaria. They need continuous therapy and long-term complex follow-up of the condition – by pediatricians and pulmonologists, neurologists and orthopedists, gastroenterologists and rehabilitation specialists.  Here, medical genetics specialists are also very helpful. It is extremely convenient for our young patients and their families that all these specialists are in one place in ‘Mama and I’,” Dr. Simov informed.

“The prestigious membership enables the oncologists of ‘Heart and Brain’ to work in the European Cancer Network and thus for the first and only time in Bulgaria patients are provided with access to quality cancer care, personalized and multidisciplinary therapeutic approach based on evidence-based medicine. As part of OECI, we will build on the knowledge and skills of our teams and collaborate with other leading centres in basic, translational and clinical research,” says Assoc. “What impressed me most about the hospital’s presentation was the emphasis on innovation and our remarkable achievements. These include the state-of-the-art molecular pathology and genetics laboratory, which conducts UK and German-certified analyses for all major biomarkers in solid tumors for diagnostic, screening, predictive and/or prognostic purposes, the country’s first cardio-oncology section, which has already received international recognition for its work and has proven that the best patient care is due to the multidisciplinary approach applied only here, and the application of the country’s only Gamma Knife in routine clinical care.

Modern equipment is of paramount importance for all hospitals in Northern Bulgaria

An irreplaceable high-tech device is now working in the Neonatology Department of ‘Mama and I’ Pleven. The equipment is an invaluable assistant in the care of critically ill newborns and its availability in Pleven is news of paramount importance for all hospitals in Northern Bulgaria, says Dr. Andrey Hristov, Head of Neonatology at the newest maternal and child health clinic in the country.

“The device is for artificial pulmonary ventilation with nitrous oxide administration. We can say that it is invaluable for the therapeutic management and stabilization of newborns with critically affected respiratory and cardiovascular activity. Until now, there was no such device in Northern Bulgaria. I am therefore extremely happy that this technology is now available in our department. With the construction of the new neonatology structure in ‘Mom and Me’ Pleven and the commitment of the management to the care of the youngest patients, we are now reassured that we have the most advanced equipment and thus close the circle of equipment for intensive care,” said Dr. Andrey Hristov.

In addition to premature newborns with pulmonary hypertension, the device will also be used for extremely immature newborns who also develop conditions requiring such therapy.

Third prize for clinical case presentation and the only Bulgarian participant at the European Congress of Preventive Cardiology in Malaga, Spain

The Center of Clinical Excellence in Pleven is one of the few in the country where both cardiology and oncology clinics operate simultaneously, and the only one that has actually been developing cardio-oncology for more than a year – a field of cardiology that has been experiencing a boom worldwide in recent years. The follow-up of oncological patients by a cardiologist before and in the course of antitumor therapy is of utmost importance for the success of their treatment, are categorical the cardio-oncologists of ‘Heart and Brain’ Pleven. They are convinced that good teamwork between cardiologists and oncologists leads to better therapeutic results and more successfully treated patients.

Read the full news here.

The Clinic of Orthopaedics and Traumatology of the ‘Heart and Brain’ Center of Excellence in Pleven works according to the most modern standards worldwide in the field of endoprosthetics of large joints /hip, knee, shoulder/. The teams successfully apply the methods of minimally invasive primary and revision arthroplasty. The achievements of the Clinic deservedly give it the leading position in hip and knee joint arthroplasty for 2022 according to the national “Hospital Index”. Another recognition is its designation as a major center for revision arthroplasty in the country.

“High-tech equipment, excellently trained specialists who have undergone training in renowned European clinics, and teamwork are the basis of the excellent results. The recognition we receive from our patients and colleagues is the most important evaluation of our work”, says prof. Asparuh Asparuhov.

You can read the full article here.

The authoritative vascular surgery specialist from China prof. Chang Shu inspected the work of vascular surgeons of the high-tech ‘Heart and Brain’ Pleven. The visit is at the invitation of Dr. Todor Samardzhiev – head of the endovascular surgery team at the Vascular Surgery Clinic of the hospital. During his stay in Pleven prof. Shu performed two complex operations together with the vascular surgeons of ‘Heart and Brain’ Pleven.

The operated patients were admitted with abdominal aortic aneurysms, which is a life-threatening condition. During the interventions in both cases the team placed endovascular prostheses using the EVAR method. Dr. Todor Samardzhiev, Dr. Valentin Velikov, Dr. Georgi Voynov, Dr Iva Kostadinova and Dr. Kaloyan Matkov are took operated together with Prof. Shu, as well as the anesthesiologist in the operating room Dr. Lyudmil Velikov, and the anesthesiology nurse Nadka Kuleva.

Prof. Shu told the media:
“I am delighted with the high professionalism of my fellow vascular surgeons. The discipline, precision and accuracy of the work in this center of clinical excellence are highly impressive!”

Here you can find the full article in Bulgarian.

Martin Mitev, Administrative director of the hospital complex in Pleven, summarizes the main findings of the annual report of Heart and Brain

What are the highlights in this annual report?

For the Heart and Brain teams, there is nothing surprising in the established trend – more and more patients from different cities of Bulgaria, including the capital, are treated in our hospitals. In the last few months we have also seen a steady increase in foreign patients from the European Union. In my opinion, the ‘public secret’ lies in the symbiosis between high medical expertise, modern technology, discipline and, above all, respect for the patient. Our daily work is set up so that it is always the patient who is at the centre of everything. In order to provide the best healthcare service, we have provided a constant opportunity and encourage our patients to give their assessment, comments or recommendations in face-to-face interviews, as well as by phone call, email or online. We have set up an entire department to monitor, carry out checks and respond to alerts without fail. Doctors and teams are on standby and setup to rethink every element and improve medical practice. Accurate adherence to examination times despite the huge number of patients, personal attention to each, competent and well-organized diagnosis and treatment are important factors for the high satisfaction rate. The Dutch system of full-patient-attention has been implemented here.

You have the only range knife in Bulgaria. Why is this huge investment important?

First of all, it is important to tell patients – although it is called a “knife”, it is not surgery – there are no incisions and no pain. We use super modern technology with gamma rays, accurate to the millimetre, and the significant risk of death and disability with the old, harsh and traumatic head-opening surgical methods does not exist. The unique bloodless technology, unique to the country and much of the Balkans, makes it possible to “melt” multiple small tumors simultaneously. It is also the only way to keep important centres in the brain undamaged. The patient can go home immediately after the radiosurgery, and besides, he does not have to pay tens of thousands of leva for treatment abroad, because we work on a clinical pathway. You know about the years-long vicious practice of collecting large sums of money from groups of families – with these diagnoses, that has ended. We are very proud that the expertise of our radiosurgeons is world-class – patients are referred to us from abroad, including Istanbul.

You can read the full article here.

This is the first newly built (in over 55 years) dedicated maternal and child health clinic in the country

All the teams at the leading ‘Heart and Brain’ Pleven have worked dedicatedly to ensure that the new ‘Mama and I’ clinic opens at full capacity, today, 1 June 2023. ‘Mama and I’, part of the ‘Heart and Brain’ center of clinical excellence, already has and is further developing world-class expertise in specialized diagnostics and treatment, as well as in research and teaching.

We are very happy to announce that 10 healthy babies have already been born with us. In such a short time, we have been able to save the lives of 3 babies in severe and critical condition. The neonatology department works with all newborns in the hospital or children transferred from other hospitals around the country, as well as self-referred. ‘Mama and I’ has a state-of-the-art specialized ambulance – a resuscitation vehicle with an intensive transport couch and respirator.

A lot of knowledge, skills and love have been put in by the architects, designers and builders of ACB ‘Helvetia’ to provide all the facilities combined with the latest medical technology in the care of expectant mothers and their children. Thanks to its expertise in building modern hospitals, ‘Helvetia’ was able to follow through with the project in just 12 months.

 

The full article is available here in Bulgarian.