Hospital performs 600 surgeries on kids in 2018

sharjah — A total of 600 surgeries on newborns and children up to 12 years old have been successfully carried out at Al Qassimi Hospital for Women and Children in 2018, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap).

These surgeries were similar to those carried out in major centres of paediatric surgery worldwide. 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 said.

Dr Youssif Al Serkal, assistant undersecretary for the ministry’s hospitals sector, said: “Supporting Al Qassimi Hospital for Women and Children with the latest medical technologies has resulted in developing the hospital’s services. This has contributed to the success of the hospital in carrying out such complicated surgeries efficiently and professionally.”

Statistics showed that 80 per cent of operations performed by the department are on children as young as two years old.

Dr Khaled Khalfan, head of paediatric surgery and technical director at the hospital, said: “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 operation rooms, equipped with the latest endoscopes and precision instruments that enable surgeons to deal with various complex surgical cases.”

Dr Khalfan said there has been a significant increase in paediatric surgeries through 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.

Among the operations performed by the department include treatment of a cleft lip and cleft palate; oesophageal obstruction and repair of posterior diaphragmatic hernia in preterm infants; ureteral re-implantation surgeries, ureteral obstruction surgeries; one-stage surgery for 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 reference medical centres worldwide. —