In the latest episode of Marketplace Middle East, CNN explores the Middle East’s healthcare revolution, with Eleni Giokos visiting Sir Magdi Yacoub’s state-of-the-art hospital in Cairo and Kim Kelaita profiling a robotic theatre room in Abu Dhabi.
At the forefront of the region’s healthcare revolution is Sir Magdi Yacoub, the renowned British Egyptian heart surgeon. He is bringing his expertise home with the launch of a state-of-the-art hospital in Cairo, set to become a regional centre of excellence in cardiac care and research, “We’re right next to the Pyramids of Giza. It’s an incredible location but importantly the vision of what this will be, is going to be even better. The design was made by Norman Foster, great designer, worldwide famous. He maintains that when you are sick you want something to look for and something like the pyramids which have been there for 4,000 years gives you inspiration.”
Yacoub’s work has long been advancing healthcare. He tells Giokos about his role as a cardiothoracic surgeon, “What we do is try to use the patient’s own tissues. Not to put foreign material because foreign material is very, very expensive and is not available around the world whereas if you have your own cells, it’s just like magic because it becomes their own and it grows with them, gives them a better quality of life and they live longer.”
Training the next generation of surgeons will be a key role for the new facility. Yacoub explains, “Getting people to live and give new life but also do research and to train people, to train younger people who will be the future of healthcare in an equal manner. So, the building is not only beautiful but also function to offer many best service to the community.”
Next, Kelaita visits the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Dr. Usman Ahmad believes the technology at the clinic will open doors in the region for medical tourism. He tells CNN, “When we established this hospital, we established it with the vision of bringing world class care closer to patients’ homes. We’ll also show that we can transform how healthcare is done in the UAE, in the region. While doing this, we’re also starting to show that we’re able to develop new techniques. Develop new techniques here, surgical techniques and other health scale delivery platforms here and take it out to the world.”
Similarly to Sir Magdi Yacoub, Dr. Ahmad believes in the importance of training future medical professionals, “That is the future. We are here not to just provide excellent care, but to train the future generations. So that process is already underway. We are training people in surgery, in medicine, in cardiology and many other specialties, and we believe that that’s the foundation we have to set for this to go to the next stage.”
Earlier this year, Dr. Ahmad carried out the first robotic heart-lung transplant in the Gulf. He says this technology is only the beginning, with AI set to play a bigger role in surgery, “Less invasive surgeries, no matter how we do them, is the future of surgery with more precision, more accuracy, and the inclusion of artificial intelligence to choose the right operation for the right patient in the right setting. This is all the future of surgery, and we’re going to get there soon.”
Marketplace Middle East airs on CNN International at the following times:
Sunday 12th October 2025 at 07:45 GST, 10:45 GST and 14:15 GST
Monday 13th October 2025 at 06:45 GST