Sidra experts

Dr. Khalid Al-Kharazi is a Senior Attending Neurosurgeon in the department of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.

At Sidra Medicine, Dr. Al-Kharazi specializes in pediatric neurosurgery, especially brain tumors, hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injuries, epilepsy, spinal tumors, spinal congenital malformations.

Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Al-Kharazi was the assistant professor of neurosurgery and the teaching program director in the University of Jordan.

He is board certified in neurosurgery from Germany (Facharzt), Europe (UEMS and EANS) and Jordan.

Dr. Al-Kharazi completed his medical degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Jordan. He is certified in neurosurgery from the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) and completed his fellowship from British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada.

Dr. Ian Pople is the Division Chief of Neurosurgery at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar. Dr. Pople’s expertise is in pediatric neurosurgery, especially hydrocephalus, spasticity and epilepsy surgery and the implantation of baclofen pumps.  He also specializes in endoscopic techniques for hydrocephalus and the treatment of neonatal hydrocephalus using novel techniques.

At Sidra Medicine, Dr. Pople has established the development of a safe and sustainable emergency neurosurgery service which offers surgical programs in pediatric epilepsy and spasticity surgery for lower limb spasticity. His team also supports the clinical and research elements of other important services such as craniofacial, spinal and neuro-oncology services.

Dr. Pople’s research interests are mainly in the treatment of neonatal and childhood hydrocephalus, head injuries, spina bifida and lower limb spasticity management.  He also specializes in endoscopic techniques for hydrocephalus and treatment of neonatal hydrocephalus using novel techniques and looks at the neuropsychological effects of brain tumours in children.

He also has a specialist interest in tethered spinal cord and epilepsy.   Throughout the course of his career as a neurosurgeon, Dr. Pople has performed over 180 selective dorsal procedures on children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Pople was Lead Pediatric Neurosurgeon at Bristol Royal Hospital for children (part of the Bristol NHS Trust), where he led the development of the Epilepsy Surgery and SDR services for Children.

Dr. Pople is a graduate of the University of Sheffield, UK and undertook his neurosurgical training in Leeds, London (Great Ormond Street Hospital) and Bristol prior to a fellowship in Paediatric Neurosurgery at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis USA. 

Dr. Mamoun Elawad is the Division Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.

The division provides a wide range of services to treat complex gastrointestinal, liver and nutritional disorders in children ages 0 to 18 and has highly specialized clinics to treat IBD, celiac disease, intestinal failure and complex allergies. It cares for children with Gastroesophageal reflux disorders; intestinal neuromuscular disorders such intestinal pseudo-obstruction; eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease; acute and chronic hepatobiliary and pancreatic disorders such as neonatal hepatitis, congenital biliary atresia and end stage liver diseases and congenital and genetically inherited GI and hepatobiliary disorders.

Dr. Elawad specializes in allergic and autoimmune gut diseases; diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy; gastroenterology; inflammatory bowel disease. His main research areas of interest are autoimmune gut disorders, genetics of inflammatory bowel disease, early onset inflammatory bowel disease; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and GI food allergies.

Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Elawad was the head of gastroenterology at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the U.K as well as a senior lecturer at University College London. He is the founder of the first worldwide pioneering program for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant for autoimmune and inflammatory gut diseases as well as the co-founder of the European GENIUS group that oversees the diagnosis and the treatment of children with early onset inflammatory bowel diseases.

Dr. Elawad completed his training in pediatric gastroenterology from Great Ormond Street Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Oxford John Radcliff Hospital and King’s College Hospital in the U.K.

Dr. J.L. Pippi Salle is the Division Chief of Pediatric Urology at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.  The division diagnoses and treats diseases of the urinary (kidneys and bladder) and reproductive tracts in infants, children, and young people. 

Dr. Salle is an internationally recognized expert in reconstructive pediatric urology. He is an innovative surgeon who developed new techniques for the correction of urinary incontinence, disorders of sex development, hypospadias and UPJ obstruction.

His research interests include original techniques for the treatment of exstrophy and epispadias; urogenital sinus and DSD; clitoroplasty; refractory urinary incontinence; hypospadias, hydronephrosis.

Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Salle was the Head of Urology at Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.  He is a visiting professor and guest surgeon in more than 30 countries. In 2019 he received the Life Achievement Award by the World Federation of Pediatric Surgeons (WOFAPS) in recognition for his academic contributions to pediatric urology worldwide.

He is a Fellow of the Urology Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Society of Pediatric Urology; Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Mitchell Stotland is the Division Chief of Plastic and Craniofacial surgery at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.

Dr. Stotland joined Sidra Medicine in 2014, where he set up the hospital’s pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgery department which provides comprehensive, cutting edge care for children and young people with all forms of congenital and acquired conditions requiring surgical reconstruction.

Some of the unique services offered by the department include multidisciplinary pediatric cleft and craniofacial clinics; hand clinics; craniosynostosis repair; reconstructive procedures for congenital and acquired hand deformities, facial palsy, and total ear reconstruction for microtia. The clinics also cover the full breadth of cranial and frontofacial reconstructive procedures for complex craniofacial syndromes as well as microsurgical reconstruction (hand, lower extremity, head and neck, etc.). 

In addition to his role at Sidra Medicine, Dr. Stotland is an Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery at Weill-Cornell Medicine in Qatar. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Stotland’s research has been concentrated on the social perception of facial difference, and he has been the principal investigator on studies involving modalities such as fMRI and eye-tracking evaluation of facial contagion and congenital deformity.

Dr. Mitchell Stotland is a graduate of McGill Medical School in Montreal, Canada. His surgical training culminated with a Plastic Surgery residency at McGill, followed by a Craniofacial Surgery fellowship with Dr. Henry Kawamoto at the University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Stotland also attended The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and obtained a Master’s of Science degree in Evaluative Clinical Sciences. 

Dr. Faisal Abdulkader is the Division Chief of Otolaryngology and Audiology at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.

Dr. Abdulkader specializes in obstructive sleep apnea in children, airway reconstruction procedures, and congenital head and neck conditions.

Dr. Abdulkader is heavily involved in training and education and in addition to his role at Sidra Medicine, he is a clinical Assistant Professor at Weil Cornell Medicine - Qatar. Dr. Abdulkader is also an examiner for the Arab Board in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Abdulkader was the Senior Attending Physician in the Otolaryngology Department at Hamad Medical Corporation where he focused on pediatric head and neck surgery. He also helped established the resident training in his department.

Dr. Faisal Abdulkader is a graduate of Southampton Medical School, University of Southampton, England. He undertook his surgical training in the field of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery and was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

He did his sub-specialty fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology from The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Following that he did his Master of Science degree in Quality and Safety in Healthcare Management at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

Dr. Husam Kayyali is the Division Chief of Pediatric Neurology at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.

The neurology department at Sidra Medicine covers neuromuscular and movement disorders, neurocutaneous and headache disorders and neuro immunology. Other focus areas include caring and treating children with seizures, autoimmune disorders of the brain and peripheral nervous system, Guillian Barre syndrome, Ataxia, sleep disorders and strokes.

Dr. Kayyali specializes in pediatric neurology, complex epilepsy management, epilepsy surgery and clinical neurophysiology. He has a special interest in ketogenic diets.  He is also the Director of Sidra Medicine’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. 

Before joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Kayyali was an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Prior to that, he had co-established the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Missouri.

Dr. Kayyali is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in pediatric neurology, clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy.

He gained his medical degree from Aleppo University and residency in pediatric neurology from Children’s Mercy Hospital in Missouri, USA. He conducted his fellowship in epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA.

Dr. Mohamed Hendaus Rahal is a Senior Attending Physician in the department of General Pediatrics at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar.

Dr. Hendaus-Rahal’s expertise comprises of taking care of children with multiple medical conditions. He is also an expert in pediatric growth and development, failure to thrive, chest infections and bronchiolitis, urinary tract infections, infections of the brain and joints and diseases related to general pediatrics.

He is also a part of the Pediatrics Complex Care program, a multidisciplinary program in Qatar that provides coordinated care for children with technology-dependent and medically complex conditions. At Sidra Medicine, he is involved in the admission of international pediatric patients and liaising with different sub-specialty teams to provide a coordinated and efficient treatment for the patients.

Prior to moving to Qatar, Dr Hendaus-Rahal acquired experience from academic centers in the United States of America.

Dr. Hendaus-Rahal received his training at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical College and at Mount Sinai Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

Dr. Olivier Ghez is the Division Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the Heart Center at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar. He was appointed to the role in April 2018, where along with a highly specialized team of interventional cardiologists, Dr. Ghez and the team apply innovative hybrid and cosmetic approaches to cardiac surgery.

Dr. Ghez specializes in neonatal, paediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery, particularly for complex heart malformations including complex aortic and mitral valve repairs for congenital patients and cone repair for tricuspid valve Ebstein malformation.

Dr. Ghez is involved in several research projects to improve care to patients with congenital heart disease including operations, simulation and circulatory support in children. He is a regular reviewer for the European Journal of cardio thoracic surgery and other publications.

Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Ghez was the lead pediatric cardiac surgeon at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, U.K. During his 10 year tenure at the hospital, he was honoured by the ITV/Sun’s Special Recognition Health Star Award for having successfully operated on the hearts of more than 1500 new born babies, infants and children.

Dr. Ghez trained at University Aix-Marseille, France including fellowships with the Children’s Hospital in Marseille and French College of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, France; Great Ormond Street Hospital in the UK and Harvard Medical School in the US.  He received his medical degree from the University Aix-Marseille II in France as well as a master’s degree in physiology and biology of circulation from the University of Paris VII. He has several degrees from the same universities in specialties including congenital cardiac surgery; extracorporeal circulation and microsurgical research. 

Prof. Khalid Hussain is the Division Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar. Dr. Hussain’s expertise is in childhood glucose disorders such as severe forms of hypoglycemia and diabetes mellitus.

Since joining Sidra Medicine in 2016, Dr. Hussain established the clinical endocrine and diabetes service where he leads a multidisciplinary team (consultant endocrinologists and diabetologists, insulin pump experts, endocrine nurses, diabetic educators and highly specialized dieticians) who provide care for children with all endocrine conditions. The service includes specialist clinics for children with all types of diabetes whose conditions are managed with the latest technological advances.

At Sidra Medicine, Dr. Hussain’s research focuses on understanding the epidemiology, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of childhood diabetes. He is also leading a national diabetes research program, funded by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and the Sidra Internal Research Fund (SIRF).

Dr. Hussain is an internationally recognized expert in the field of childhood hypoglycemia and rare types of diabetes mellitus. He has described several novel disorders relating to hypoglycemia and diabetes mellitus. He has published extensively in the field of glucose physiology with more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high impact journals including NEJM, Science, Nature Genetics, Cell Metabolism, EMBO, JCI, PNAS, HMG, AJHG, Diabetes, Diabetologia and JCEM.

Prior to joining Sidra, Dr. Hussain was an Honorary Consultant Pediatric Endocrinologist at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London UK as well as a Professor of Pediatric Metabolic Endocrinology at The Institute of Child Health, University College London.

Dr. Hussain qualified in Medicine from Glasgow University in Scotland, U.K and then trained in neonatology, metabolic medicine and pediatric endocrinology in London (Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital) and Australia (Monash Medical Center, Melbourne).