Dr. Rafii Tabrizi and HMC Colleagues Bring Laparoscopic Technique to Ob/Gyn Care

Dr. Rafii Tabrizi and colleagues in the operating room at HMC Woman's
Hospital. Left to right,Dr. Nadia Al Mulla, Dr. Afaf Al Ansari, Dr. Rafii
Tabrizi, and Nigel Piera, Class of 2010.

Dr. Arash Rafii Tabrizi, assistant professor of genetic medicine in obstetrics and gynecology at WCMC-Q, performed laparoscopic surgery to remove tumoral tissue and lymph nodes earlier this year at HMC Woman’s Hospital, a new procedure for Qatar.

Working with Dr. Afaf Al Ansari, consultant at HMC Woman’s Hospital, and Dr. Nadia Al Mulla, senior specialist at HMC Woman’s Hospital,Dr. Rafii Tabrizi, used the laparoscopic technique, also known as minimally invasive surgery, on two different gynecologic oncology surgeries on two different patients.

Laparoscopic surgery has many advantages for patients. It is less invasive because the surgery is performed through small incisions. “Instead of a single 20-inch incision, we use several very small incisions to insert a tiny trocars and introduce, a camera and required instruments such as cutting or cautering devices,” said Dr. Rafii Tabrizi. “Generally, the smaller incisions mean less pain, less blood loss, and a quicker recovery for the patient. In addition, because the laparoscope images are magnified onto a nearby monitor, the surgeon can see greater detail than allowed with traditional surgery.”

One of the surgeries involved adnexectomy, or removal of fallopian tubes and ovaries, and omentectomy which would have required a 20 cm incision, The second surgery was pelvic lymphadenectomy, which is removal of pelvic lymph nodes.

“My hope is that we can do more surgeries laparoscopically on a routine basis in the future. The procedure is done commonly elsewhere and we want to make it the gold standard for care in Qatar,” said Dr. Rafii Tabrizi, who trained with Dr. Denis Querleu who pioneered the procedure in France in the 1990’s.

Report by Kristina Goodnough