Distance surgeries to become the norm

Dubai - Doctors perform surgeries hundreds, or potentially thousands, of kilometres away in hard to reach areas or conflict zones

Relatively simple video-conferencing and "augmented reality" technology are allowing doctors to help perform surgeries hundreds, or potentially thousands, of kilometres away in hard to reach areas or conflict zones, according to experts from the American University of Beirut Medical Centre (AUBMC) in Lebanon.
Speaking at Arab Health in Dubai, Dr Ziyad Ghazzal, AUBMC's deputy executive vice-president for Medicine and Global Strategy, said that an AUBMC trauma surgeon, Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta, highlighted the possibilities during the 2014 Gaza War.
"While a surgeon was performing surgery on the ground in Gaza, Dr Abu Sitta was able to see a live video of how the surgery was taking place. That's the easy part in this day and age - you can direct your camera onto the surgery, and video-conference in that way," he said. "The additional component, however, is a tool that actually allowed him to send live drawings to assist the surgeon on the other end."
"There is an exchange in video images related to the surgery as it was happening and an exchange of imaging before, during, and after the surgery, via Skype and Whatsapp," he added.
Dr Ghazzal noted that such technologies have the potential to make a significant difference in conflict areas - such as Syria or Yemen - which lack appropriate medical facilities, or in which they have been damaged or destroyed.
"This way, surgeons in conflict areas have expert surgeons in tertiary care facilities such as the AUBMC assisting them," he noted.
Dr Noha Hachach, AUBMC's director of medical and health Strategy, noted that such tools also have the potential to improve the quality and abilities of doctors in rural or hard-to-reach areas, far from modern medical facilities.
"The tool is important to help trainees as institutions in those areas get advanced training, by having expert physicians reach out," she said. "It's democratising medicine by providing that safe access to safe care that people need," she added. "We can even have patients get to primary care physicians by linking them through technology, rather than have them there on their own at the mercy of doctors who might not have the training."
bernd@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai