UAE: Meet the medical team that sang Baby Shark to calm a toddler during surgery

When 16-month-old Mohammed Hassan was brought to Thumbay Medical Hospital with a crushed fingertip, he was bawling in pain. Medics found it difficult to treat his injury — until a group of medical students sang and danced.

In a video that recently went viral on social media, the students of Gulf Medical University (GMU) are seen clapping and singing the popular children's song 'Baby Shark' — and it worked like a charm. Entertained, the little boy seems not to notice the procedure being done on his left finger.

"Mohammed's finger was accidentally crushed in a door while playing with his elder sister," said the toddler's father Ahmed Hassan.

The family took him to different hospitals, where they were told that a surgery under general anaesthesia was required. "I was not ready for general anaesthesia for such young child," Ahmed said.

When they rushed him to Thumbay University Hospital in Ajman, however, Dr Faisal Ameer —a consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon — said the procedure could be done with local anaesthesia.

The big challenge, though, was that baby Mohammed couldn't stay still. So, the students consoled him and distracted him with a fun song.

"The baby started looking around curiously when we sang for him, and he was amused to the point that he got distracted," said Radha Pulate, a fourth-year MBBS student at the GMU of Thumbay Group.

Maha Alam, another fourth-year GMU student, added: "My younger sister loves the baby shark song, and it hit my mind. The song became a miracle. I just started singing it for him and it calmed him down."

The procedure was then conducted successfully. "His nail was hanging with a small thread of tissue. We removed the hanging nail, repaired the nail bed, and the cast was placed," said Dr Faisal.

- ayaz@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Dubai