Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in collaboration with the American Urological Association (AUA), will host on Thursday the AUA Segura Conference at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC).
More than 500 physicians, including participants from outside Qatar, are attending the conference, which continues until Saturday to discuss updates and latest advancements in kidney stone surgeries in the Gulf region. State-of-the-art presentations will cover advancements in all aspects of stone management, including symptom interpretation, best diagnostic modalities and appropriate treatment selection.
Speaking about the event, Dr. Khalid Al Rumaihi, head of urology surgery section at HMC and conference chairman, said this is only the second time that the biennial conference is being held outside the United States, noting that the advancement in nephrolith (related to kidney stones) minimal invasive surgeries at HMC is the reason the conference was brought to Qatar.
Sixteen surgical operations, ongoing at Hamad General Hospital's operating theaters, will be shown live to conference participants. The surgeries will be conducted by international surgeons who will be applying a range of new techniques for the first time worldwide. Also, on the closing day of the conference there will be a video showing surgeries conducted locally in Qatar as well as abroad.
"HMC's Urology Department will take part in the live surgeries to be shown to conference participants in QNCC . This is in addition to a number of resource papers to be presented by some of our urologists," said Dr. Al Rumaihi. He added that prior to the conference, a two-day training program was held for local and international residents on the subject.
In addition to local participants from HMC and the private sector, participants at the conference come from India, Nepal, Russia, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, South Africa, Libya, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq and GCC countries. The internationally renowned conference speakers are from the United States, Canada and Europe.
An exhibition of the latest equipment, technologies and medications in the field of urolithiasis will be held on the sideline of the conference, Dr. Khalid Al Jalham, assistant head of urology surgery at HMC, said.
A flex robotic surgery will be conducted for the first time in Qatar and the Gulf region during the conference.