Al Qassimi Hospital performed 600 surgeries on children in 2018

The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, said that the Pediatric Surgery Department at Al Qassimi Hospital for Women & Children successfully conducted 600 surgeries on newborn infants to children aged 12, using surgical endoscopy in 2018.

These surgeries were similar to those carried out in the major worldwide centres of paediatric surgery. The aim was to treat as many critical medical conditions such as congenital malformations of the digestive system, urinary and reproductive system, and congenital and non-congenital tumours, the ministry added.

Dr. Youssif Al Serkal, Assistant Under-Secretary for the ministry’s hospitals sector, said, "Supporting Al Qassimi Hospital for Women & Children with the latest medical technologies has resulted in developing the hospital’s medical and therapeutic services. This has contributed to the success of the hospital in carrying out such complicated surgeries efficiently and professionally."

The Pediatric Surgery Department is one of MoHAP’s reference departments that performed these qualitative surgeries that point to the key role of the Fetal Medicine Department in the success of pediatric surgeries, he added.

"Fetal Medicine Department helps detect the congenital malformations during pregnancy, with the engagement of parents about the nature of the case and the need for surgical intervention, in coordination with other specialties in the hospital. This cooperation and coordination help reduce the occurrence of unwanted medical complications," Al Serkal explained.

Dr. Khaled Khalfan, Consultant, and Head of Pediatric Surgery and Technical Director at the hospital, said there is a significant increase in paediatric surgeries by endoscopies, noting that most surgeries are related to the abdomen and chest cavity, such as the repair of congenital anomalies, intestinal obstruction, biliary gallbladder, and obstruction of the urinary tract in children.

He revealed statistics which showed that 80 percent of operations performed by the department is on children as young as two years old.

"Last year, we conducted 600 surgeries with high success rates. We are expecting the surgeries that will be performed this year to reach 1,000. This increase is due to the distinguished medical team and the expanded operations rooms equipped with the latest endoscopes and precision instruments that enable surgeons to deal with various complex surgical cases."

He referred to the operations performed by the department such as treatment of a cleft lip and cleft palate, oesophagal obstruction and repair of posterior diaphragmatic hernia in preterm infants, ureteral re-implantation surgeries, ureteral obstruction surgeries, one-stage surgery for the bladder repair, abdominal wall and genitalia after one or two days of childbirth, and biliary atresia surgery by laparoscopic ducts, which is a qualitative operation carried out in the reference medical centres worldwide.

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