Sharjah
A baby born with part of the brain outside the skull has been saved in the UAE, thanks to a team of skilled doctors. The anomaly was discovered when the Emirati mother underwent a routine scan at Al Zahra Hospital.
The patient and family were then informed that a multidisciplinary team would be required to perform the operation. Having had three successful deliveries with the hospital in the past, the family opted to stay on. The ‘occipital encephalocele’ disorder affects one in 5,000 births in the GCC.
A C-section was performed once the mother, who was in her 38th week of pregnancy, went into labour, and the baby was immediately rushed to the neonatal ICU where it was kept under extreme sterile conditions and monitored round the clock.
‘This case was unique. It was crucial to have a multidisciplinary team and an obstetrician who has dealt with a similar case in the past. In my 30 years of experience, this is only the second time I have encountered such a case,’ said Dr Shama Nawaz, consultant obstetrics and gynecology, who led the team that delivered the baby. To tend to the baby’s brain outside the skull, a team under Dr Bobby Jose, specialist neurosurgeon and clinical administrator.—Agencies
