Prime Highlights
- Burjeel Medical City partnered with Roswell Park to launch a thoracic surgery programme in the UAE.
- The collaboration will expand access to specialised cancer treatment closer to home.
Key Facts
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a US National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- The programme will provide robot-assisted, VATS, and open thoracic cancer surgeries.
Background
BMC, which is the flagship hospital of Burjeel Holdings, has partnered with the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in the US to establish a dedicated thoracic surgery program in the UAE.
The partnership brings together Roswell Park’s clinical knowledge and academic background with BMC’s oncology clinical care and healthcare facilities. The new programme will specialize in lung, oesophagus, mediastinum and chest wall cancer.
The partnership will provide both robot-assisted and video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) surgeries as well as open surgeries, depending on the clinical needs of a patient. The programme has been established to deliver specialised care for thoracic cancer in Abu Dhabi, thus eliminating the need for patients from the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to travel abroad for complex treatments.
The thoracic surgery service will be integrated with the Burjeel Cancer Institute’s multi-disciplinary approach to care. Thoracic surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pulmonology, pathology, and radiology specialists will collaborate to deliver coordinated care from diagnosis through recovery.
The partnership will also involve regular meetings of the tumour board, where doctors at BMC will be able to meet with Roswell Park specialists to discuss cases of complexity. Patients will get expert reviews and second opinions, and treatment will be based on known international clinical guidelines.
In addition to patient care, the two institutions will collaborate on research, education, clinical protocols, faculty exchange and professional development. The academic’s position with Roswell Park will be granted to the lead thoracic surgeon at BMC.
The initiative is designed to enhance specialized cancer treatment in the UAE, whilst also developing local medical skills and providing access to advanced cancer treatment throughout the region.
