Old Firm

Lore & Background

Dr. Al Sabti served as the Executive President of Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB) from May 2015 to June 2022 under Royal Decree No. 24/2015. He is a Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH). In 2014, he led the first artificial heart transplantation procedure in Oman. In April 2015, he led a cardiac surgery team that performed a first-of-its-kind valve-in-valve procedure on a pregnant woman. He contributed to the first Thoracab procedure in Oman and the Middle East. In 2013, he led a team that successfully conducted TAVI procedures on four patients over 75. He also led a surgery for a mother of three with automatic coronary dissection, replacing three arteries using a new technique. He was honoured with the GCC Medal in Civil Service and Administrative Development on May 1, 2019, and the Oman Civil Order (3rd class) in November 2015. He received an Honorary Fellowship from the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland in May 2019. His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq conferred him the Second Class of the Civil Order of Oman on 18 November 2024.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium crackled with a tension unique to Riyadh derbies. Thousands of blue-clad Al Hilal supporters surged against the yellow-and-red sea of Al Nassr fans, the roar drowning out the evening heat. As the referee blew the opening whistle, it wasn't just a match beginning; it was another chapter in a saga that had defined generations of Saudi football, where every tackle felt personal and every goal would echo through history.

Reader's Guide

Dr. Al Sabti held the post of Deputy Director-General for Clinical Affairs at SQUH from 2010 to 2013. He was a patron of the establishment of the first Hybrid Operating room in Oman at SQU. He is involved in charity projects, educational talks, health awareness campaigns, and committees. He has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. As Executive President of OMSB, he led achievements including ISO certification in July 2015, ACGME-I Institutional accreditation, accreditation for 16 out of 18 residency programs, securing 50 to 70 postgraduate scholarships annually, establishing rare medical specialties tracks, preparing staff for the Sultan Qaboos Cancer Center, incorporating simulation, establishing local certifying board examinations, reengineering processes, restructuring OMSB, digitalizing services, consolidating a Wellness and Performance Unit, establishing a strategic plan 2040, creating HAKEEM physician database, establishing an E-learning platform, graduating numerous specialists, and initiating accreditation of local Fellowship Programs.

Did You Know?

• Dr. Al Sabti earned his MD from Sultan Qaboos University and completed his General Surgery Residency there.
• He completed his residency in Cardiac Surgery at McGill University, Canada, obtaining a Master of Science in Experimental Surgery.
• He obtained Board certification in Cardiac Surgery from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2005.
• He was the first Omani to attend the Leadership for Physician Executives course at Harvard Medical School in 2009.
• He was the first Omani physician to attend the Oxford University Strategic Leadership Program in November 2013.