Quality of expertise

Hats off to the Tawam Hospital that has successfully treated an 11-year-old girl named Mayar, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood and bone marrow cancer (“AD hospital successfully treats girl with acute leukaemia,” Gulf Today, May 28).

Leukemia, also spelled leukaemia, is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called blasts or leukemia cells.

The exact cause of leukemia is unknown. A combination of genetic factors and environmental (non-inherited) factors are believed to play a role.

The good thing is recently, the Department of Orthopedic and Spinal Deformities Surgery at the Tawam Hospital, part of Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), in Al Ain, had successfully performed a series of complex operations for spinal deformities like kyphosis and scoliosis in children and adults.

Kyphosis is an exaggerated, forward rounding of the back that can occur at any age.

Dr Anwar Salam, Group Chief Medical Officer, SEHA, said, “As part of our commitment at SEHA to provide the community with world-class care, the oncology centre at Tawam Hospital is led by an integrated multidisciplinary team of consultant doctors and qualified specialists, and the latest technologies to appropriately diagnose and provide treatment. The latest success story of treating an 11-year-old with acute lymphoblastic leukemia serves as testament to the quality of expertise and services available within the network that serves the wider UAE community.”

Mayar visited Tawam Hospital in April 2017, where she was diagnosed, and soon after started chemotherapy, which lasted for approximately 2 years. The young girl was then diagnosed with relapse acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but even after treatment, her tests revealed the continuation of more than 15 per cent abnormal cells.

Abu Ali
By email