Hamdan receives medical team behind landmark foetal surgery
The UAE’S healthcare system has advanced capabilities that help perform the most complex surgeries, he said
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said the UAE’S healthcare system has advanced capabilities to provide a wide range of medical treatments and procedures including the most complex surgeries. Emirati medical professionals have demonstrated a high level of expertise in different medical specialities, including paediatric and intrauterine foetal surgery, Sheikh Hamdan said.
Sheikh Hamdan’s remarks came during a meeting with the medical team from Latifa Women and Children Hospital led by Emirati doctors that performed the first-ever intrauterine foetal surgery for a spinal cord defect in the Arab region. The meeting, which took place at his residence in Nad Al Sheba, was also atended by Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, DHA, and Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary General of The Executive Council of Dubai.
The extremely delicate six-hour surgery was performed on a 25-week-old foetus carried by an Emirati mother that was diagnosed to have myelomeningocele, a type of spinal cord defect. The foetus weighed only 700 grammes. As the surgery was performed at this stage and not ater the baby was born (which is typically the standard medical procedure), the foetus’ defect was corrected, giving the baby a chance for improving cognitive function, lower limb function and deformities.
During the meeting, the team explained to Sheikh Hamdan how they conducted the highly complex surgery. The procedure was performed by a multidisciplinary team of highly specialised medical professionals from Latifa Women and Children Hospital and Rashid Hospital, led by Emirati doctors Dr. Muna Abdulrazzaq Tahlak, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and CEO of Latifa Women and Children Hospital, and Dr. Mohammad Sultan Al Olama, Consultant Neurosurgeon specialised in Paediatric and Functional Neurosurgery at Rashid Hospital and President of the Emirates Society of Neurological Surgeons in the UAE.
Dr. Tahlak and Dr. Al Olama outlined the various steps of the procedure performed by a twenty-member team comprising maternal and foetal medicine experts, obstetricians, anaesthesiologists, a clinical pharmacologist, neo-natal and intensive care nurses, scrub nurses from both hospitals, nurse coordinators and a radiographer.
Sheikh Hamdan commended the advanced level of medical services offered in Dubai, whose skilled medical professionals and cuting-edge healthcare facilities have enabled it to emerge as a prominent healthcare destination.
“We thank all those who were involved in this extremely delicate surgery that gave an Emirati family hope for a healthy baby. We hope this success will inspire young Emirati doctors to strive to gain expertise and skills that will help them record accomplishments that will enable the UAE to further consolidate its leadership in the healthcare sector,” he said. Sheikh Hamdan expressed his best wishes to the medical and paramedical staff for their future endeavours.
Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the DHA, said the leadership is keen to extend their support to healthcare professionals and encourages them to work harder to acquire more advanced skills to reach the highest level of excellence. Al Qutami said the DHA is proud of the medical team and their achievements. The Authority constantly strives to provide the highest standards of accessible medical care to the community, he added.
Al Qutami also thanked Sheikh Hamdan for the meeting, saying the gesture encourages the medical team to strive for more accomplishments.
Earlier this year, Sheikh Hamdan said the UAE’S fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is being implemented in Dubai according to a proactive strategy that takes into consideration all possible scenarios. The positive results of the emirate’s measures reflect Dubai’s exceptional preparedness for all possibilities.
He further said that comprehensive preventive steps have been implemented to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people in Dubai in line with nationwide measures.
Sheikh Hamdan’s remarks came as he visited the field hospital, set up in the Dubai World Trade Centre, DWTC.