Abu Dhabi: Mafraq Hospital has performed a successful endoscopic surgery to remove cancer from the stomach of an Emirati patient.
The operation was conducted using an endoscope inserted through the mouth of a 70-year-old patient who was under local sedation. It was performed without any skin incisions.
Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) is a procedure that first separates the tumor from underlying tissue by injecting fluid.
The tumor is then cut using a special endoscopic tool. The procedure is fairly new and only a few centres in the US are known to perform it.
Doctor Emad Al Rahmani, Chairman of the Medicine Department and Head of the Endoscopy Unit at Mafraq Hospital, said: "The patient had been diagnosed with first stage stomach cancer and the decision was made to perform endoscopic surgery as we were concerned about our elderly patient undergoing traditional surgery. Our patient had previously had a stroke and had other diseases unrelated to the stomach cancer. The cancer was removed using a new technique called endoscopic submucosal dissection which excises the tumor in one piece using a scope through the patient's mouth without any incision. This is the first time such a surgery has been done in the Middle East. Our patient is stable and expected to make a swift recovery."
Dr Mohammad Yaman, Chief Medical Officer at Mafraq Hospital added: "Mafraq Hospital is proud to have such highly skilled physicians, able to conduct innovative and life saving surgery such as this endoscopic procedure. We receive patients from around the GCC and the Arab World at Mafraq Hospital and will continue to offer health care of international standards to all our patients."
Mafraq Hospital is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha), which is responsible for all the curative activities of public hospitals and clinics in Abu Dhabi.
