Prof. Pippi Salle, a senior pediatric urologist from the Sidra Hospital in Qatar, came to Israel for the complex surgeries, and together with Dr. Bezalel Sivan, director of the Pediatric Urology Unit at the Saban Pediatric Medical Center at Soroka and a multi-professional team, the operations were performed with great success.
Recently, two complex surgeries were performed at Soroka to correct rare congenital urogenital anomalies. The first was performed on a four-year-old girl who suffered from urinary incontinence manifested in a need to continue to use diapers and a persistent skin rash. Another surgery was performed on a two-year-old girl who was born with ambiguous genitalia (urogenital sinus and megaclitoris) and a CAH (an enzyme that produces estrogen) deficiency.
The surgery to treat urinary incontinence involved a complex procedure to strengthen the bladder neck. In addition, a plastic surgery procedure was performed.
In the girl with ambiguous genitalia, a unique, complex procedure was performed to reconstruct the internal and external female genitalia.
These anomalies are very rare and the surgeries are complex. A guest surgeon, Prof. Pippi Salle, a senior urologist from Sidra Hospital in Qatar, was invited to take part. Prof. Salle is the former chief of urology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The surgeries were performed together with Dr. Bezalel Sivan, director of the Pediatric Urology Unit at the Saban Pediatric Medical Center at Soroka, Prof. Nicola Mabjeesh, head of the Department of Urology at Soroka, and Dr. Yarden Zohar, a resident in the department.
Teams from the Department of Anesthesiology and nursing staff from the OR and the Department of Pediatric Surgery took part in the operation. Given the rarity of the cases, managers of pediatric urology units from other hospitals in Israel came to Soroka to observe the surgeries.
Dr. Bezalel Sivan, director of the Pediatric Urology Unit at Soroka: "We were happy to host Prof. Salle at Soroka. His presence helped us perform these complex procedures. These operations were performed on the girls for the first time at the hospital and their goal was to improve their quality of life and physical and mental health. It is possible that in the past such cases were not identified or not treated either because of shame or ignorance or due to a lack of resources or surgical experience. I am happy to announce that the follow-up visits at the clinic show that both girls recovered well, with good bladder control and excellent cosmetic results.
The last decade has been characterized by the development of advanced diagnostic tools, social awareness, accessible internet information, and extensive medical knowledge that all serve to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of these unique cases. In addition, there is increased awareness among the population and a desire to improve quality of life, not only save lives."
