A team of breast surgical oncologists at Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Hamad General Hospital (HGH) has successfully performed a tumour removal surgery for a patient in her thirties, with the patient being discharged from the hospital on the same day of surgery. This is the first time in Qatar a same-day discharge surgery, was performed for this kind of case. 

The surgery has been carried out at the Ambulatory Care Center’s Day Surgery Department by Dr. Ertifaa Al Shammari, Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, and Dr. Salman Al Shibani in collaboration with a multidisciplinary medical team including, radiologists, nurses, and histologists. 

Commenting on the surgery, Dr. Al Shammari said that performing a day surgery for breast tumour removal under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team is an unprecedented medical achievement for HMC. She explained that the patient was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer and lymphoma. Following her diagnosis and the development of an appropriate treatment plan, a decision was made to remove the tumour surgically. The surgery lasted for three hours and the patient remained under medical supervision for a few more hours after the completion of the surgery. Then she was discharged home on the same day after ensuring that her condition was stable. The patient was provided with analgesics (pain relievers) and all necessary wound-care instructions and was given contact information to call her healthcare team in case she needs anything. A specialist nurse called the patient 24 hours after her discharge from the hospital for further follow-up to ensure that her condition was stable and she was able to return to her normal life.      

The patient expressed her gratitude to HMC and thanked her healthcare team for the high-quality care she received during all stages of her surgery.  

“The patient expressed full confidence in her surgical team and the high-quality medical capabilities available at HMC and accepted our plan to discharge her from the hospital on the same day of surgery. Day surgery is considered a great option for breast tumour removal operations as it can have many advantages for the patients, including improving the patient’s psychological state, reducing preoperative anxiety, reducing chances of developing blood clots in the legs, as well as limiting exposure to infections due to the reduced length of hospital stay, especially amid the covid-19 pandemic and helping the patients to recover more quickly and return to their normal daily life,” said Dr. Ertifaa Al Shammari.

“The decision to undergo day care procedures is subject to several criteria such as the age of the patient and her health condition as she does not suffer from any chronic disease and the early diagnosis of the tumor. This applies to 80.6% of the cases we diagnose.” Dr. Ertifaa added. 

Dr. Ertifaa extended her thanks to Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari, Chief Medical Officer for Surgical Services at HMC, Dr. Mohamed Al Akkad, Vice Chair of Surgery at HMC and Dr. Mohamd Salim, Head of Surgical Oncology, and Dr. Amal Al Obaidly, Head of Clinical Imaging for their support in such unprecedent achievement.   

Dr. Ertifaa advises women to undergo regular checkups for early detection of breast cancer at the age of 45, as breast cancer screenings are available free of charge for all women even for those who did not experience any symptoms. The screening is conducted through radiation imaging for both breasts using the mammogram technology. The early detection of breast cancer helps increase the recovery rate by 99% if cancer was detected in early stages.

The breast oncology surgical department at HGH performs around 500 procedures annually. This number increased 50% in the last year with the COVID pandemic due to the patients’ confidence in the medical capabilities of HMC.  

Dr. Ertifaa stressed the importance of the day care clinic recently launched at WWRC which provides oncology diagnosis for PHCC referral patients to be seen by a specialist within 48 hours depending on the risk factors. Patients are being diagnosed by a surgeon and then they undergo a mammogram. Then a sample is taken to be directed to the specialist’s follow-up within one week only after taking the sample.