Surgeons at Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, performed multiple life-saving procedures on a baby experiencing complications with breathing and swallowing due to a small larynx and large cysts in her tongue and throat.
Baby Thinnara’s parents sought the help of Sidra Medicine’s Children’s Emergency Department and specialist otolaryngology clinic to address their child’s breathing and swallowing issues.
Dr Faisal Abdulkader, division chief of Otolaryngology and audiology at Sidra Medicine, said: “When Thinnara came to our Children’s Emergency Department, we immediately saw that she had stridor, a common breathing issue as a result of a blocked upper airway as well as severe laryngomalacia, a congenital softening of the tissues of the larynx above the vocal cords, which causes the tissues to block the airway opening.”
“Thinnara also had a mass under her tongue, which was making it difficult to breathe and latch on for breast or bottle feeding and as a result, she had a feeding tube that was inserted by a different hospital, to help her with nasogastric feeding.”
The emergency team then referred her to the otolaryngology clinic for further testing and diagnostics.
Taking a multidisciplinary approach to Thinnara’s treatment, the team at Sidra Medicine immediately set about performing the complex surgical procedures to remove the cysts and widen her larynx.
Following her surgery, and thanks to the specialty care provided by an entire team in the paediatric intensive care unit supported by speech, language and respiratory therapy, dietary and nutritional services, Thinnara was discharged within a week.
The family of the child with Dr Faisal Abdulkader
