Successful Hernia Operations in Imam Hospital
The medical team from National Guard’s Imam Abdulrahman Al Faisal Hospital in Dammam has performed more than seven hernia operations in a single day. "A significant medical breakthrough," said Dr. Bandar Al Knawy, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Guard Health Affairs and the President of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, who noted that "The operations had been successful and utilized modern medical techniques which had been applied in Europe only a few weeks ago.” He also noted that the results were good and predict a new surgical future that offers patients comfort and reduces both pain and recovery time. The Regional Executive Director of the National Guard Health Affairs in the Eastern province Dr. Ahmed Alarfj said: “The huge development witnessed by the National Guard Health Affairs as well as the great results in recent hernia operations are the product of constant training sessions, workshops and courses." He reported that the patients are in good health and that the fast employment of these new medical techniques is proof of the achievements in medical science progress within the NGHA.
The head of surgery at Imam Abdulrahman Al Faisal Hospital, Dr. Khalid Mirza said that the hospital conducted seven operations in the same day and utilized the latest findings in endoscopy. This helps with discharging patients on the same day pain free where before the patient had to be admitted for more than five days. He also confirmed that the current procedures can be performed for patients who suffer from various diseases.
The hernia operations were performed after a workshop presented by Dr. Tim Tollins from a specialized hospital in Belgium and discussed the different kinds of hernia surgeries. This workshop came in response to the growing number of patients who suffer from hernia in the Kingdom.
The surgeries were successful and the results satisfactory to the doctors and patients’ expectations. There were various hernia procedures such as inguinal hernia, abdominal hernia and those which appear at old surgical sites. The patient’s ages were from 34 to 68 years old. These surgeries are now becoming so simple that it can be equivalent to tonsillectomy.
Dr. Tollins was impressed by the hospital’s potential and said, "This hospital is one of the best hospitals I had seen in the Gulf and I admire the great nursing team especially the female staff, and it is heartening to see this important segment of the Saudi society handling such matters."
Dr. Mirza said that “Six of the seven operations were performed through a colonoscopy. One operation was performed through a small hole subsequent to a local anesthesia due to some difficulties in administering full anesthesia. They utilized the latest technology, a semi-industrial plastic material as a barrier to cover the weak abdominal wall areas through which the hernia occurred.”
These operations put an end to post-op pain and recovery and come as part of a long series in specialized procedures that are being carried out in the National Guard Health Affairs. The surgeries include those for obesity which had an increasing rate of success.
Dr. Mirza stated, "This particular procedure requires skill, willingness, and continuous practical training and is a product of expert workshops. A lot of hernia procedures were performed this year reaching more than 70 procedures."