3rd Annual Complex Care conference at SSMC convened leading experts to provide deeper insights into some of the most complex and serious cases treated at SSMC
Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), one of the UAE’s largest hospitals for serious and complex care and a joint-venture partnership between Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and Mayo Clinic, hosted its “3rd Annual Complex Care at SSMC in Partnership with Mayo Clinic: A Case-Based Approach” conference on Nov. 11, 2023. The conference provided an overview of the cutting-edge treatments applied to recent complex and serious medical cases at SSMC. With nearly 1,500 local and global attendees, the conference aimed to impart knowledge and in-depth insights on best practices in complex care in addition to shedding light on the hospital’s unique Model of Care that adopts an integrated, patient-centered and team-based approach to meet patient needs of all ages.
Taking place both in an in-person setting and through livestream presentations, the conference included a range of sessions dedicated to neonatal and pediatric medicine, internal medicine, maternal and women’s health, as well as surgical care. The cases presented by SSMC experts demonstrated how the multidisciplinary approach at SSMC, combined with innovative practices and technological advances, optimizes care for patients. Participants also had the opportunity to form valuable connections, engage in stimulating discussions, and hear from multidisciplinary faculty experts specialized in a wide range of medical subspecialities.
Dr. Matthew Gettman, chief medical officer at SSMC, commented on the conference: “In its third edition, our annual complex care conference continues to highlight the work that we are doing to build a destination medical center in the UAE. We are working continuously to optimize the care we provide and also build out broader opportunities in education and research. This approach ultimately advances complex case outcomes for patients in the UAE and the wider region.”
Dr. Gettman added: “By exchanging best practices with members of the medical community, we stay true to our collaborative mindset that believes in sharing learning and expertise to achieve service excellence and serve the needs of patients with the most complex and serious of cases.”
Through a mix of keynote presentations, in-depth case discussions and rapid-fire sessions, experts engaged in stimulating discussions covering recent notable achievements at SSMC. Topics included the case of the thoracoscopic excision of pleuropulmonary blastoma in a five-month-old baby, a minimally invasive surgery to remove a type of lung cancer in children that forms in the tissues of the lung and the organs between the lungs (pleura). Other cases focused on abdominal aortic aneurysms and how the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at SSMC has significantly evolved over the past year. Dr. Asma Deeb, consultant pediatrician and chair of the Pediatric Endocrinology Division at SSMC, spoke about disorders of gender differentiation. In another session, Dr. Colin Maciver, maxillofacial, head and neck surgery consultant, and Dr. Mohammad Qureshi, clinical imaging consultant, focused their presentation on the ‘Mixed reality, 3D planning and surgical navigation in the treatment of head and neck cancer’.
Dr. Talha Aziz Malik, consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist and director of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at SSMC, said: “Our primary value at SSMC is to place patients’ needs first through a commitment to exceptional standards of medical practice and innovative techniques. This year’s conference demonstrated our multidisciplinary team’s success over the past year and provided comprehensive insights into how complex cases were successfully managed through our integrated model of care approach.”
“With our dedication to service excellence, we are adamant on progressing with our journey of becoming a destination medical center in the UAE and wider region, addressing gaps in care in every avenue we can.”
