One of the operating theaters in the new surgical unit at Hamad General Hospital. Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
Doha: An average of 1,500 surgeries are performed in different specialities at the Hamad General Hospital and the number exceeds 2,200 each month at the Rumailah Hospital, said a senior official.
Among them at least a 50 percent are general surgeries and orthopedic related procedures, said Professor Dr Moustafa Alkhalil, Director of Operation Theaters at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
HMC’s hospitals within Doha have around 50 operation theatres with advanced facilities and also expansions continue due to the increasing demand.
“We have a big number of theaters and soon will increase it to meet the growing demand. There are new hospitals and expansion plans, we have state-of-the-art theaters, we have the newest equipment and the largest number of surgeries performed in different specialities,” said Dr Alkhalil.
“Majority are general and orthopedic surgeries and it makes about half of all surgeries. The General Surgery Department deals with common surgeries including surgery of the pancreas, liver, colon, stomach and gallbladder – among others. Orthopedic Department also has a big number of theatres as they deal with many cases including trauma. They deal with emergency and elective surgeries and the capacity of theatres will be increased soon to meet the increasing demand,” he added.
The new surgical unit at the Hamad General Hospital with sophisticated equipment and services is revolutionising surgical practice at HMC’s largest hospital and providing patients with even better care, according to Dr Alkhalil.
The 10,000 square metres operating theater expansion features 20 newly equipped surgical theatres. The facility has three highly advanced hybrid operating rooms to complete surgical procedures as well as CT and MRI imaging.
These operating rooms allow surgeons and radiologists to work on five to seven specialities at the same time. One of the new operating theaters also features the latest high-tech robotic surgery apparatus – the da Vinci Xi surgical robot, which Hamad surgeons use to perform a variety of specialist and general surgeries.
“There is a revolution all the time for expansion and improvement at our hospitals. To achieve the improvement which happened here within 15 years, some countries might need more than 50 years,” said Dr Alkhalil.
“Also that guests from Europe and the US while visiting HMC are fascinated and impressed with equipment, technology and the design of our theatres,” he added.
Dr Alkhalil said that the vacant spaces created by the shifting of Women’s Hospital clinics to the new Women’s Wellness and Research Centre will be occupied by the Surgical Department, as part of the expansion plan.
“However, it’s not easy and requires a lot of time as patient safety is very important and we have to make sure everything is perfect and ready for operations,” he said.
