Surgeons in Abu Dhabi perform breakthrough surgery on Colombian fetus with spina bifida

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Although the procedure is not new, it was a first for the region. (Burjeel Medical City)
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Updated 16 June 2023
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Surgeons in Abu Dhabi perform breakthrough surgery on Colombian fetus with spina bifida

  • Team from Burjeel Medical City provide life-changing treatment free of charge
  • Hospital gave ‘a ray of hope for our baby,’ mother Valentina Rodriguez says

DUBAI: The number of reported cases of spina bifida in the Gulf region and around the world is on the increase, but many doctors believe this is due to increased awareness and better diagnostic methods, rather than a spike in the condition.

Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when bones forming the spine do not develop properly, leading to the spinal cord being left exposed to the amniotic fluid — the liquid that surrounds the unborn child in the womb — and resulting in a permanent disability.

No one wants to be told their baby is going to have anything other than a perfect life, but as with all things in the medical world, knowledge is power.

The increase in early diagnosis means there is a greater chance to improve the child’s life through prenatal surgery, and that is precisely what happened in Abu Dhabi this month.

Although the procedure is not new, it was a first for the region.

The operation was led by Dr. Mandeep Singh, a consultant in maternal and fetal medicine at Burjeel Medical City hospital.

He explained that before the breakthrough in prenatal surgery there were other procedures to treat the condition but they were more risky.

“We had to wait for the babies to be born. And then once the babies are born, the spinal cord needs to be closed within the first 24 hours, otherwise, there is the risk of infection, and that infection could go to the brain and cause meningitis, which is a very serious condition,” he said.

An initial study to see if an in utero procedure was possible was conducted in 2003.

“After 12 years of research, results showed that if you repair the defect in the womb, there is two times more power in the lower limbs and 1.5 times more likely to have reduced need for a shunt,” Singh said.

Spina bifida can be caused by many things. Although rare, it can be genetic but most of the time there are multiple factors preventing the spinal cord from closing, including a deficiency of folic acid (vitamin B), which is important for a healthy pregnancy.

If left untreated, the condition can have life-altering effects on the child.

“When the spinal cord is left exposed to the amniotic fluid, it causes damage. Most of the time, the centers that are controlled by the lower part of the spinal cord, or bowel and bladder, are severely damaged.

“That means these babies may not be able to walk or run. They may in the initial part of their life, but as the upper part of the body gets heavier, they are unable to walk.

“And most of them are wheelchair-bound. Or if they can walk, it is only with support. So it’s a pretty debilitating disorder if not treated,” Singh said.

He and his team successfully performed spinal correction surgery on the unborn child of a Colombian couple.

For Jason Gutierrez and Valentina Rodriguez being told their baby had spina bifida was life-changing, not least because it meant they had to fly half way round the world, leaving everything they knew behind so she could undergo the surgery.

“When I found out my baby had spina bifida, I felt really sad,” Rodriguez said. “I am a nurse and I’ve seen moms with babies with disabilities and never thought this could be a possibility for me.”

In Colombia, couples expecting babies with spina bifida have only two options: wait for the child to be born and then operate, or terminate the pregnancy.

“As time went by and no real solution came about, by miracle we heard about a center in Abu Dhabi which was able to perform the surgery immediately and at no cost to us,” Rodriguez said.

“We decided to resign from our jobs, leave our families and home and travel all the way here for our baby.”

It was not an easy decision to make, but Rodriguez said her family gave her their full support.

“My family was really sad, but on the other hand they were really happy that we were given this opportunity and a ray of hope for our baby. In Colombia, there was no solution.

“I was diagnosed during the 20th week and it could have been spotted since the 11th week, so I suspect if I stayed in Colombia, no action would have been taken and the baby would have disabilities and complications,” she said.

According to Singh, between two and four babies per 10,000 are diagnosed with the condition and the numbers are rising. While there is no clear reason for the increase, the doctor thinks it is down to more diagnoses, especially in the GCC region.

“Medical facilities are increasing so the statistics are increasing, because more people are being aware of the condition and getting the diagnosis they need,” he said.

Prenatal surgery was not without risk, however, to the baby and the mother, Singh said.

“Since this operation requires a cut to be taken from the womb, the biggest risk is scar rupture. Because this is a scar on the upper part of the womb, if she were to go into labor, there is a higher chance that the scar will give way. If the scar gives way in the pregnancy, it’s not only dangerous for the mother, but the baby will die or will be born with severe brain damage,” he said.

But Rodriguez was not thinking about the risk to herself before undergoing the surgery, which took place just two days after she arrived in Abu Dhabi.

“I wanted everything to go okay for the baby,” she said. “My preparation was more mental and spiritual. The center helped with visa arrangements, the flight tickets and the cost of the surgery was covered as well. Everything from food to accommodation has been provided. Otherwise there was no way we could afford it.”

A team of 10 people, including four surgeons, were involved in the procedure. While Singh is an expert in maternal–fetal medicine, the repair to the baby’s spine was carried out by a neurosurgeon.

Singh said there were many hospitals in East Asia, Africa, North America and Europe that could perform the procedure but Burjeel Medical City was a center for the Gulf region.

“There is a vast geographical area where this procedure is not done. Our center now provides solutions for parents who are seeking help in the region,” he said.

“We promise to make our results available to every prospective parent who comes here, because that’s the best way of giving confidence to prospective parents. And in medicine, there is nothing to hide. The outcomes have to be open and transparent for people to trust you.”

Rodriguez is expected to have her baby in Abu Dhabi in August. She does not know how long she and her husband will stay in the country but said they would remain as long as it took to ensure her baby was healthy and safe.


Missile launched from Yemen into Israel intercepted, Israeli army says

Updated 26 April 2025
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Missile launched from Yemen into Israel intercepted, Israeli army says

CAIRO: The Israeli army said in the early hours of Saturday that a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.
Sirens sounded in a number of areas in Israel following the launch, the Israeli army added in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who have been launching attacks against Israel as well as ships they perceive as affiliated to Israel, in what they say is to support the Palestinians in Gaza against the Israeli offensive on the enclave.


Former Lebanese PM Diab questioned over Beirut port blast

Updated 25 April 2025
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Former Lebanese PM Diab questioned over Beirut port blast

  • Investigation gains momentum as French official files transferred to Judge Tarek Bitar
  • Lebanese President Aoun reiterates importance of judiciary in securing broader reform

BEIRUT: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab appeared before Judge Tarek Bitar on Friday for questioning related to the devastating Beirut port explosion of Aug. 4, 2020. 

Diab was interrogated for two and a half hours before being remanded for further questions. The session came a week after Bitar questioned former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk.

In recent weeks, former General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and former Head of State Security Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba also appeared before the judge.

The explosion devastated the capital’s waterfront, resulted in thousands of casualties, and has been compared in scale to a nuclear bomb.

It prompted widespread outrage both at home and abroad due to the long-term neglect in safely storing large quantities of ammonium nitrate at the port.

Diab, who was prime minister at the time of the explosion, had previously failed to attend hearings into the disaster for various reasons, notably claiming that “the investigative judge lacked jurisdiction to question” him, or stating that he was abroad.

For more than 18 months, several individuals contested their summons, arguing that Bitar was not the appropriate authority to investigate them.

They also initiated lawsuits against Bitar, whose work was suspended for a significant period due to political pressures and legal challenges.

During their unexpected appearances before the investigative judge, these individuals all expressed their intention to cooperate.

In Lebanon, political and judicial powers are intertwined, contrary to the constitution’s separation of powers principle.

The judiciary is mostly subject to political pressure, starting with judicial appointments, as with other institutions and administrations, which hinders reform efforts and the full independence of the judiciary.

A ministerial source told Arab News that President Joseph Aoun had always stressed two key pillars essential for the state’s recovery are security and the judiciary.

“The security appointments have been finalized, and measures are in place to restore security.

“The minister of justice and the High Judicial Council are actively working on judicial appointments to restore processes free from political interference and corruption.

“These procedures have started to affect the justice system, and everyone has begun to understand that the authority of the judiciary is not negotiable; the previously accepted method is no longer valid.”

The source emphasized that gaining political support for the judiciary is essential to shield it from interference.

This should be prioritized, particularly in light of the president’s commitment to maintaining judicial independence.

Additionally, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is dedicated to implementing the ministerial statement that received unanimous support through the vote of confidence in his government, said the source.

Political authorities are still debating the law on judicial independence, but it remains unapproved and is currently stalled in joint parliamentary committees.

Aoun has previously stressed his belief in the judiciary as a cornerstone of reform.

In a recent meeting with the Bar Association, he noted that the challenge is not the coubtry’s laws themselves, but their implementation and accountability for violations.

“Too often, laws are interpreted for personal gain and interests. By working together, individuals committed to justice and accountability can address imbalances, fight corruption, and promote responsibility,” he said.

“Only the judiciary has the authority to deter offenders and corruption,” the president added.

Currently, the High Judicial Council is investigating bribery cases involving several judges and has issued a preliminary arrest warrant for one of them, who was arrested and transferred to the prison run by the General Directorate of Internal Security Forces.

The council recently set up three bodies to investigate cases against judges.

Lawyer Ghida Frangieh — who represents victims of the Beirut port explosion — told Arab News that the “renewed cooperation between the Public Prosecution and investigative Judge Bitar is a crucial development.

“It will help revive the port explosion case and allow the investigation to continue until an indictment is issued and, ultimately, a trial takes place,” Frangieh said.

“The election of the republic’s president, setting up a functional government instead of a caretaker government, and the political will for reform would collectively help reactivate Lebanon’s judicial system.

“This should have been the scenario in the port investigations three years ago, and all pending judicial cases should now be addressed and resolved in due order,” Frangieh added.

A French delegation is set to arrive in Beirut next Monday, following the transfer of judicial summons from the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation in Lebanon to France.

Bitar has requested access to French investigations regarding the port explosion, and the French judiciary has expressed willingness to support the judge by providing all necessary files and documents for his investigation.

Several French nationals were among those killed and injured in the Beirut port explosion.


US says blast near UNESCO world heritage site caused by Houthi missile

A picture shows a view of UNESCO-listed buildings in the old city of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on July 12, 2023. (AFP file photo)
Updated 26 April 2025
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US says blast near UNESCO world heritage site caused by Houthi missile

  • A Houthi official was quoted by the New York Times as saying the American denial was an attempt to smear the Houthis

WASHINGTON: The US military said a blast on Sunday near a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa was caused by a Houthi missile and not an American airstrike.
The Houthi-run Health Ministry said a dozen people were killed in the US strike in a neighborhood of Sanaa. The Old City of Sanaa is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The US ordered the intensification of strikes on Yemen last month, with officials saying they will continue assaulting Houthis until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping.
A US Central Command spokesperson said the damage and casualties described by Houthi officials “likely did occur,” but a US attack did not cause them.
The spokesperson said the closest US strike was more than 5 km away that night.
The US military assessed that the damage was caused by a “Houthi air defense missile” based on a review of “local reporting, including videos documenting Arabic writing on the missile’s fragments at the market,” the spokesperson said, adding the Houthis subsequently arrested Yemenis.
A Houthi official was quoted by the New York Times as saying the American denial was an attempt to smear the Houthis.
Recent US strikes have killed dozens, including 74 at an oil terminal on Thursday in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under Trump so far, according to the local Health Ministry.
The US military says the strikes aim to cut off the Houthi militant group’s military and economic capabilities.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about civilian killings, and three Democratic senators, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, wrote to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday, demanding an accounting for the loss of civilian lives.
The Houthis have taken control of swaths of Yemen over the past decade.
Since November 2023, they have launched drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel.

 


Flow of Sudan war refugees puts Chad camp under strain

Sudanese refugees fill jerry cans with water at the Touloum refugee camp in the Wadi Fira province, Chad, on April 8, 2025. (AFP
Updated 25 April 2025
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Flow of Sudan war refugees puts Chad camp under strain

  • Chad has taken in more than 770,000 of them, according to the UN refugee agency — with many more likely on their way

IRIBA, Chad: Nadjala Mourraou held her haggard two-year-old son in her henna-tattooed hands for the medics to examine. Then came the painful diagnosis: little Ahma, like many of his fellow Sudanese refugees, was severely malnourished.
The pair were toward the front of a long line snaking out of the doctors’ tent at an already overcrowded refugee camp in east Chad, creaking under the strain as more and more people fleeing the civil war across the nearby border with Sudan turn up.
“We’re suffering from a lack of food,” complained the mother, who fled the fighting in Nyala, in Sudan’s South Darfur region, with Ahma more than a year ago.
Since their arrival at the Touloum camp, Mourraou added that all she and Ahma had to eat each day was a bowl of assida, a porridge made from sorghum.
Yet, as with other conditions at the camp, this meagre ration could deteriorate further as the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces drags on.
Besides killing tens of thousands, the two-year conflict has uprooted 13 million people, more than three million of whom have fled the country as refugees.
Chad has taken in more than 770,000 of them, according to the UN refugee agency — with many more likely on their way.
Between 25,000 and 30,000 Sudanese refugees already live in the makeshift sheet metal and white canvas tents, packed together across the arid Touloum camp, according to sources.
Recently, more and more of them have become malnourished, said Dessamba Adam Ngarhoudal, a nurse with medical charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF.
“Out of 100 to 150 daily consultations, nearly half of them deal with cases of malnutrition,” said the 25-year-old medic.
The worst cases are sent to the Iriba district hospital, around half an hour’s drive away.
But the hospital was powerless to stop the first Sudanese infant dying of malnutrition under its care.
“Since the beginning of the month, we have already exceeded the capacity of the malnutrition ward at the hospital,” said MSF nurse Hassan Patayamou recently.
“And we expect admissions to continue to rise as the hot season progresses and temperatures rise above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).”
With the fighting set to grind on, Chad’s government fears the number of Sudanese refugees in the country could soon reach nearly a million.
That burden would be too heavy for impoverished Chad to bear alone, argues the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The refugee agency was seeking $409 million in aid to help the Sahel country — only 14 percent of which it had received by the end of February.
“The Chadian people have a tradition of welcoming their Sudanese brothers in distress,” said Djimbaye Kam-Ndoh, governor of Wadi Fira province where the Touloum camp is located.
“But the province’s population has practically doubled, and we’re asking for major support.”
Humanitarian groups are worried about the impact of US President Donald Trump’s move to freeze America’s foreign aid budget, while other donors, notably in Europe, have also made cuts to their financing.
“Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake,” Alexandre Le Cuziat, the UN’s World Food Programme deputy director in Chad, said in a phone call.
Nearly 25 million people are suffering from acute food insecurity in Sudan itself, according to the WFP.
And with the rainy season just under two months away, medics fear outbreaks of diseases.
“We’re preparing for an explosion of cases of malnutrition and malaria,” said Samuel Sileshi, emergencies services coordinator for MSF in Central Darfur state.
“This year, we are also facing measles epidemics in Darfur,” he said.
That unhealthy cocktail of diseases, he warned, “could have devastating consequences,” not least for children.

 


WFP says has depleted all its food stocks in Gaza

Updated 25 April 2025
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WFP says has depleted all its food stocks in Gaza

  • Entry of all humanitarian aid has been blocked by Israel since March 2

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The UN’s World Food Programme on Friday warned it has depleted all its food stocks in war-ravaged Gaza, where the entry of all humanitarian aid has been blocked by Israel since March 2.
“Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip. These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days,” WFP said in a statement.