KUWAIT CITY, March 24: The Ministry of Health announced the upcoming formation of a medical team to receive cases of lymphatic vessel malformations at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital. In another development, the Head of the hospital’s plastic surgery unit Dr. Sarah Al-Youha confirmed that the unit obtained international academic recognition, which requires following several specific plans and steps, including adoption of international protocols, a system for recording complications, and learning how to deal with them. In a press statement issued yesterday, Dr. Al-Youha explained that the unit performing more than 1,200 surgical cases and examining more than 10,000 cases since its inception in 2020 until now contributed to obtaining this recognition.

Contributed
The unit began with one surgeon, Dr. Salma Al-Hamad, who contributed to establishing the unit. Now, eight surgeons work in the unit, including Dr. Hisham Bourezq, Dr. Heba Al-Khasnam, Dr. Khaled Al-Tarrah, Dr. Hussain Al-Mousawi, Dr. Hussain Al-Qattan, and Dr. Abeer Kalender. The department has created specialized units within the plastic surgery unit. For example, it conducted operations to restore children’s deformities.
They cooperated with doctors in other specialties to create the cleft lip unit at Farwaniya Hospital, which has received recognition from the American Society for Cleft Lip Surgery and Head Deformities Surgery, led by Dr. Latifa Al-Kharafi. The department has a post-mastectomy reconstruction unit and a unit for the removal of head and neck tumors, with the cooperation of the Ear, Nose and Throat Department at Jaber Hospital, led by Dr. Maha Al-Jilani, and the Breast Surgery Unit in the Surgery Department with Dr. Lamia Malak and Dr. Sulaiman Al-Mazidi.
Dr. Al-Youha stated that this academic accreditation obtained by the department came with the support of the Ministry of Health, the administration of Jaber Hospital and the head of the Medical Corps who provided all the capabilities to the unit until it became competitive with its counterparts in the developed world.

Harmony
Meanwhile, plastic surgery consultant Dr. Hisham Bourezq said the unit is characterized by harmony and cooperation among all doctors, which has contributed to realizing great achievements within a short period of time. He said, “Through this cooperation, we were able to form the first team specialized in surgery of congenital deformities. The unit receives a large number of cases every week. With the support and approval of the Ministry of Health, we receive cases from all hospitals in Kuwait. We have cooperated with doctors from 11 specialties from various hospitals of the government sector to create a unit that is the first of its kind to treat cleft lip and head deformities. It is based in the Dental Center of Farwaniya Hospital and receives all cases from the government and private sectors.”

In addition, Dr. Bourezq indicated that the Plastic Surgery Unit of Jaber Hospital contributes to treating cases of chronic wounds in Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice, adding that the unit’s doctors also participate in the Vascular Deformities Clinic at Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital. He stressed that the burns and plastic surgery unit of Jaber Hospital is not only a unit for providing services to patients, but it has also become an important headquarters for training doctors and giving lectures on an ongoing and periodic basis, to raise the level of information among trainee doctors, and thus improving the services provided to patients.

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff