Latest proposals discussed at surgical research symposium

More than 50 research proposals were showcased at the ‘4th Surgical Research and Innovation Ideas Al Zahrawi Symposium’ recently hosted by Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Surgical Services and Medical Research Centre.
Over 400 HMC staff, including clinicians and researchers from across surgical and perioperative sections at Hamad General, The Cuban, Rumailah, Al Wakra and Al Khor hospitals, along with staff from the private healthcare sector, attended the three-day symposium.
“The research ideas are evidence-based and compassionate and have the potential to contribute to the health and well-being of Qatar’s population,” said Dr Abdulla al-Ansari, HMC’s deputy chief medical officer for surgical services and chairman of the event’s organising committee.
The symposium was dedicated to the achievements of the renowned Arab physician and surgeon, Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al- Abbas
Az-Zahrawi (936 –1013). Known as al-Zahrawi, he is considered the greatest medieval surgeon from the Islamic world and is frequently described as the father of surgery.
His greatest contribution is the Kitab Al-Tasrif, a thirty-volume encyclopedia of medical practices. His pioneering contributions to surgical procedures and instruments had an enormous impact in the East and West; some of his discoveries are still applied in medicine today.
Professor Hossam Hamdy, associate dean of Academic Affairs, College of Medicine at Qatar University, said he was impressed with the initiative taken by HMC’s Department of Surgery.
The participants presented their research proposals and debated their ideas with an invited panel of international, local research and innovation experts from HMC, Qatar University’s College of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Sidra Medical and Research Center, McMaster University (Canada) and Mansoura University (Egypt).
Dr Jason Howard, division chief of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at Sidra Medical and Research Center, described the symposium as one of a kind, mixing hard research proposals with pitches for innovative ideas for medical devices and other inventions.
Dr Mohit Bhandari, professor and Canada Research chair, McMaster University, said: “The quality and quantity of proposals at the symposium signified an impressive shift towards evidence-based surgery.”