Thursday, April 14, 2016: The AOSpine honored H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance, President of Dubai Health Authority, and the Patron of Hamdan Medical Award, in recognition of his support for international and regional healthcare sectors, particularly the organization’s activities.

 

H.E. Humaid Al Quitami, the Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, received the honorary shield in the presence of Abdullah bin Souqat, a member of the Board of Trustees of Hamdan Medical Award. 

 

H.E. Humaid Al Quitami, represented H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the opening ceremony of the 5th World Spine Congress (WSC) and the 5th World Forum for Spine Research (WFSR), which are concurrently organized by the AOSpine for the first time in the Middle East, over 4 days at the Grand Hyatt hotel, Dubai. 

 

In his opening speech, H.E. Humaid Al Quitami extended H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum greetings and best wishes for the attendees in these two scientific gatherings, which are held within the framework of successive developments in all medical fields in the world, particularly in the Orthopedic and micro-neurosurgery.

 

“Such a big event in the world medical arena confirms Dubai as a main destination for world scientific gatherings. The UAE has become a center for the formulation of practical visions dealing with various challenges in the medical field”, he noted.

 

H.E. Al Quitami thanked Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences for its tireless efforts over more than 17 years as a liaison between the UAE institutions and many prestigious academic and professional healthcare organizations worldwide.

 

The opening ceremony included a speech delivered by Dr. Abdulrazzak Alobaid, Chairman of Faculty of Orthopedic, Chief of Spine Surgery and Chief of Orthopedic ER, Alrazi Hospital, Kuwait, the Regional Chair of AOSpine, and the Regional Chair of WSC.

 

Dr. Alobaid said: “This conference is one of the largest specialized conferences in spine surgery on the world level, with the participation of more than 1,200 professionals from 74 countries. Holding the conference for the first time in the region is a fruit of big efforts over years in demanding with this”.

 

“The AOSpine plays a vital role in developing the skills and knowledge of spine surgeons in the Middle East, through holding many courses and workshops, and supporting the research movement in this field of medicine”, he said.

 

Concluding his speech, Dr. Alobaid thanked both the Government of Dubai for supporting and hosting the conference, and the AOSpine for strengthening the spine surgeons in the region.

 

Prof. Jeffrey Wang, the Congress Chair, delivered a speech in which he spoke about the success of the conference, especially in its current edition which witnesses unprecedented big numbers of participants and submissions. “This year, we received 853 papers, from which the WSC will present 368 papers as lectures and 144 papers as posters. Also, the WFSR selected 49 papers to be presented as lectures and 21 papers as posters, besides the participation of around 15 spine societies from all over the world”, he said. 

 

During the opening ceremony, Dr. Ali Haghnegahdar was announced as the winner of the AOSpine’s Germán Ochoa traveling fellowship. The award enables him to be a 4-weeks ambassador of the organization in a spine center anywhere in the world.

 

Also, H.E. Humaid Al Qatami opened the accompanying exhibition, which is held with the participation of 27 companies and societies.

 

It is worth mentioning that several important issues is being discussed in the 5th  WSC & WFSR such as the degeneration in cervical and lumbar cases, thoracolumbar deformity in adults and adolescent, cervical and thoracolumbar trauma, imaging, minimally invasive spine surgery, surgical complications, non-operative clinical treatments, spine biologics, degeneration of intervertebral discs, back and neck pain.