Sidra-led team performs complex surgery on boy

A multidisciplinary team of clinical experts from Sidra Medical and Research Center (Sidra) and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has made medical history by successfully performing a series of hugely complex surgeries for the first time in the Middle East.Over the past two years, the team has worked to save the life of a baby boy through multiple procedures to correct birth defects from OEIS Syndrome, a rare and life-threatening condition which can prove fatal in most cases. An interdisciplinary paediatric medical team led by Sidra’s division chief of paediatric general and thoracic surgery Dr Abdalla Zarroug, comprised of surgeons, urologists, anaesthesiologists, neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons worked together to conduct more than seven complex surgical procedures to save the life of baby Mohamed, born to an Egyptian family living in Qatar. Among the most recent of these, an operation in October 2016 lasted more than 12 hours. The team led by Joao Luiz Pippi Salle, Sidra’s division chief of paediatric urology, successfully conducted bladder exstrophy surgery to repair the baby’s bladder, as well as ventral hernia repair, genital reconstruction and gastrostomy tube placement. This marked the latest of the more complex procedures needed to correct the specific set of malformations affecting the baby and which are caused by OEIS. Mohamed’s medical journey began in his mother’s womb following an early diagnosis of possible OEIS Syndrome during an ultrasound conducted by Sidra’s division chief of maternal foetal medicine Dr Karim Kalache and Dr Sawsan al-Obaidly from HMC. The team of more than 30 clinicians worked in close harmony during the past two years, each playing a major part in helping to save the patient’s life. Their success provides an important blueprint for effective collaboration between medical experts and institutions in Qatar and elsewhere across the region.The surgical team headed by Sidra’s Dr Zarroug included Dr Mansour Ali, head, Paediatric Surgery, HMC, Dr Jason Howard, division chief, Paediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Sidra, Dr David Sigalet, chair, Department of Surgery, Sidra, Dr Khalid al-Kharazi, acting division chief, Paediatric Neurosurgery, Sidra and Sidra’s Dr Joao Luiz Pippi Salle."The success of highly complex surgeries like this depends on a broad range of experience and expertise, as well as a fully multi-disciplinary approach to patient care.The results are a clear testament to the quality and calibre of the practitioners at Sidra and HMC and we’re incredibly proud of this success. This case represents a real milestone for clinical practice in the Middle East,” Sidra’s CEO Peter Morris said.