Five of Sidra Medicine’s Milestones

Sidra may only recently have officially opened, but the hospital has been fully-operational for some time - during which it has laid down some great milestones for itself and Qatar!

Here’s some of Sidra Medicine’s amazing achievements from 2018:

1. Separating the first conjoined twins in Qatar

The photo of these twins tugged at our heartstrings, and not just because of how cute they are, but for the fact that they were the first conjoined twins to be successfully separated in Qatar! The twins’ mother was assessed at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) when she was 29 weeks pregnant. Together, HMC and Sidra Medicine arranged for the delivery and care of the twins and, once they were four months old, Sidra Medicine performed the surgery to separate them from the liver. After nine hours of surgery, they were separated, healthy and happy! Another cute fact: although the family is from Mali, the twins have names that honor Qatar - Tamim and Hamad!

2. First female Qatari robotic gynecology surgeon

Not only are Sidra Medicine’s surgeries and initiatives achieving new milestones for the country, but so are its doctors! Dr. Aisha Yousuf is an up-and-coming young Qatari physician - and the first to perform robotic gynecology surgery in Doha. Dr. Yousuf has a long history with Qatar Foundation, having graduated from Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, one of its partner universities. She then went on to complete her residency at the University of Michigan Hospital in the US, before specializing in minimally invasive and robotic gynecology surgery. Earlier this month, she took center stage as the MC at Sidra Medicine’s grand opening.

3. Performing their first open-heart surgery

Sidra Medicine’s Heart Center marked another milestone this year when its team performed their first open-heart surgery. A three-year-old patient was diagnosed with atrial septal defect, a condition that manifests as a hole in the heart. A team of 10 medical professionals was able to successfully correct the defect in a surgery that took only two hours; ensuring that such complex surgeries can be performed locally for patients and their families. With these achievements under their belt, the Heart Center, one of Sidra Medicine’s flagship programs, is positioned to become a leading center in the region for patients suffering from congenital heart disease.

4. Helpline for Children

Illustrating the way Sidra Medicine supports the community beyond the hospital’s day-to-day activities, it has launched a Child Advocacy Helpline. The helpline is for children, families and the general community to report any form of child abuse or neglect that they witness, and is operational from 7am to 3pm during weekdays. Understanding that abuse and neglect can happen at any time, callers contacting the helpline after hours will be prompted to leave their name and contact information so a Sidra Medicine representative can get in touch with them the next day.

The Child Advocacy Helpline number is: 4003 4000

5. Opening doors to medical tourism

A Kuwaiti baby girl was born prematurely with a defect that left her heart unable to properly pump blood through her body. She weighed just 1.3kgs at birth. The 29-day-old patient was flown from Kuwait to Qatar for an emergency operation. The procedure took two hours, but not only did the surgery save the little girl’s life, it demonstrates how Sidra provides an opportunity for patients in the region to access specialized care closer to home than ever before. You can read more about Sidra Medicine’s role in ushering an era of medical tourism in Qatar in this Wall Street Journal article.

With all these firsts and milestones - and its ultra-modern facilities - Sidra Medicine is ready to position itself as a leader in the region when it comes to healthcare, medical research, and health innovation. Want to learn more about Sidra Medicine? Check out its website here.