One-stop shop for keyhole surgery

A one-stop shop for keyhole surgery will be of help to patients reluctant to travel to the US or those who need to go back to work soon after a major operation.

This was announced by the American Hospital in Dubai, as it unveiled the Centre of Excellence for Minimally Invasive Sur-gery manned by specialists and support team.

"Open-wound surgeries are on the way out, laparoscopic surgery is the way to go," said Dr Toufik Tabbara, an advanced laparoscopic surgeon. The centre will be part of the eight-year-old hospital expansion.

Laparoscopic surgery has been used for decades, but the hospital has pioneered efforts to gather different specialists under one roof to administer microinvasive procedures, said Dr Tabbara.

The medical community has recently set up a specialised sub-committee to list best practices and training guidelines on laparoscopic surgery in the UAE. Keyhole surgery creates minimal scarring, reducing recovery period and risks of complications brought by huge open wounds.

Having different laparoscopic surgery specialists under one roof maximises benefits to patients when another medical problem is discovered during a procedure to treat a medical condition, said Dr Rihab Awad, a consultant obstetrician and urogynaecologist.

"The centre's multidisciplinary team of doctors will allow us to shoot two birds with one stone. When a surgeon performing an abdominal keyhole surgery discovers gynaecological problems along the way, then he can always call a gynaecologist in the team who can deal with the other problem immediately."

The hospital employs 45 full-time doctors covering almost all specialties. According to Dr T.W. Callaway, a Canadian urologist, who has been doing laparoscopic surgery for over 10 years, Dubai will compete in cost and quality with countries in Asia and Europe known for their 'medical tourism' business.

"We're also offering a very competitive advantage for patients who used to get medical treatment in the U.S. but have encountered various forms of post 9-11 trauma," he said.

The privately-run hospital has launched gastric banding and gastric bypass to treat obesity involving a team of surgeons, specialists, dieticians and psychiatrists.