Marking a big milestone, Qatar’s Sidra Medical & Research Center performed its first outpatient pediatric surgery this week.

A hernia operation that took about an hour was conducted yesterday on a little boy, Gulf Times reports.

The center is now expected to perform some 50 surgeries a week on children, the newspaper added.

Patients must be referred from Hamad Medical Corp. (HMC), Primary Health Care Corp. (PHCC) or the Qatar Foundation Primary Healthcare Center.

Procedures will include rchidopexy (a surgery used to bring the testes down), umbilical and epigastric hernia repairs, soft tissue biopsies and hydrocelectomy (a surgery for removing fluid in the scrotum).

Sidra said it plans to expand these services soon to include ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedures, urologic procedures, minor plastics surgery procedures and simple orthopedic procedures and ophthalmology procedures.

In a statement, its outpatient medical director Dr. David Sigalet said:

“Day surgery is a vital component of any healthcare service. It allows sometimes acute conditions to be treated efficiently and effectively.

It is very gratifying that pediatric patients can now be treated for more minor conditions which may not be life-threatening but which, nevertheless, can significantly impact a child’s life.”

Sidra progress

After several hurdles, Sidra partially opened in May this year with the launch of some pediatric outpatient clinics.

By January 2017, it expects outpatient services to be fully operational, with more than 40 clinics and services.

The organization has not publicly confirmed a timeline for the opening of the entire hospital, which has been delayed for years.

However, last month the organization announced plans to recruit more than 4,000 clinical and non-clinical staff over the next two years in preparation for the hospital’s full launch.

Thoughts?