DUBAI: American Hospital Dubai successfully conducted High Dose Brachytherapy radiation treatment on a patient diagnosed with cervical cancer—a first-of-its-kind procedure to be done in the Dubai and Northern Emirates area. The procedure was performed by a team of radiation oncology experts led by Dr Tarek Dufan, the hospital’s Director for Radiation Oncology, using the CT scan-based high dose brachytherapy radiation. The patient was kept under deep sedation during the procedure and was also sent home on the same day of the treatment.

American Hospital Dubai is the only DHA-certified Brachytherapy unit in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. It is also a fully certified International Centre of Excellence for Brachytherapy and Radiotherapy to Varian Medical Systems, a leading radiation oncology treatments and software maker. Brachytherapy, which is also called internal radiation therapy, allows a physician to use a higher total dose of radiation in order to treat a smaller area in a shorter time possible with high dose rate radiation treatment. The procedure involves the delivery of a high dose of radiation to the cancer mass while also saving the surrounding normal structures. The technique is now being used as an option to treat individuals diagnosed with cervical, uterus, prostate, lung, oesophagus, breast, head and neck cancers.