28 March 2019, UAE: The 2nd Obstetrics, Gynecology and Fertility International Conference started today at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). The conference hosts 7 international experts from University College London Hospitals (UCLH), London, Switzerland, Lebanon and many key experts from the UAE. On its first day, the conference attracted over 300 attendees from inside and outside the country. The conference is organized by Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children and HealthPlus Fertility Centers, part of United Eastern Medical Services (UEMedical). The 2-day conference is accredited for 14 CME hours by the Department of Health Abu Dhabi.

In his opening speech at the conference, Mr. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO of UEMedical said that the obstetrics, gynecology and fertility services in both public and private sectors witnessed great improvements by developing different departments providing specialized advanced services in line with the vision of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi.

“United Eastern Medical Services is determined to execute its plans to expand its obstetrics, gynecology, fertility as well as pediatric services. With the 300M AED expansion project of Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children in Abu Dhabi, the new hospital building will be of a capacity of 100 beds and adjacent to the current building at Abu Dhabi Gate City. This will increase the total number of beds to 225 beds that covers a variety of specialties for women and children,” Mr. Al Shorafa clarified.

He also added that the theme of the conference this year concentrates on obstetrics, gynecology and fertility treatments which serves as a platform for discussions between the different experts and specialists allowing participants to benefit from the experts experiences in dealing with different complex cases.

Dr. Sadoon Sami Sadoon, Chairperson of the conference, Obstetrics & Gynecology Consultant and Medical Director at Danat Al Emarat Hospital welcomed the participants, and pointed out that the sessions of the conference over 2 days will include 28 scientific lectures presented by experts and specialists from inside and outside the UAE, covering topics like minimal invasive surgeries, one day surgeries for women, causes of the increase in cesarean section deliveries worldwide and the importance of fetal medicine in following the fetuses growth and diagnosing any health problems in the early stages of pregnancy.”

“The conference today discussed the debate about the US Food and Drug Administration warning and recommendation to stop one essential step in removing fibroids through laparoscopy. This lead to an increased rate of traditional open surgeries for these kinds of procedures which increased the risks and complications,” Dr. Sadoon said.

He also added that fibroids are one of the most benign tumors in women and are found mainly at the age of puberty. Their prevalence varies from one region to another, as 25% of women from European origin, around 60% of African origin and more than 30% in the Middle East found to have uterine fibroid (s). It has also been found that significant number of these women visiting tertiary centers with symptomatic fibroids require surgical intervention in a way or another. It is known that uterine fibroids cause infertility problems and delay in pregnancies, recurrent miscarriages, preterm births, heavy menstrual bleeding and pelvic pain, and may cause pressure on the bladder and bowels.

From his side, Dr. Hisham Mirghani, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Fetal Medicine Consultant at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children in Abu Dhabi, stressed on the importance of accurate reading and interpretation of fetus ultrasound imaging (sonography) during pregnancy to reach to the ideal decisions regarding the follow-up of fetus growth, and to give as accurate information as possible to parents. He added that studies showed that about 5 percent of the fetuses have health problems or some sort of deformity, which sometimes require chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis for accurate diagnosis.

In her scientific lecture, Dr. Ghada Salman, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in London and one of the international speakers at the conference, stressed on the need for thorough and comprehensive examinations of pregnant women with history of caesarean sections to screen for Caesarean Scar Ectopic Pregnancy. She said that the reported incidence of Caesarean scar ectopic ranges between 1 in 1800 to 2500 pregnancies world-wide.

Dr. Hazem Al Momani, Consultant in General Surgery & Bariatric Surgery, Head of Surgery at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children in Abu Dhabi, warned women who underwent a bariatric surgery not to get pregnant until 18 to 24 months after their surgery, specifically gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, pointing out that there is 5 to 10% possibility to develop risks for the mother and the fetus in the event of pregnancy before 18 months of bariatric surgery.

Alongside the conference, an exhibition was held featuring many medical and pharmaceutical companies.