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UAE: World’s top limb-lengthening doctor opens region’s first clinic in Abu Dhabi

This renowned orthopaedic surgeon has treated thousands of children and adults with genetic, birth defect problems, and limb deformities

In a major boost to Abu Dhabi’s effort to become a medical tourism hub, one of the world’s most experienced orthopaedic surgeon and sought-after limb-lengthening specialist has opened his first clinic in the region at Burjeel Medical City.

Dr Dror Paley’s the Paley Middle East Clinic launched in collaboration with Burjeel Holdings aims to become a hub for complex procedures in the region by providing specialised orthopaedic care for people with musculoskeletal conditions.

Dr Paley has performed around 20,000 limb-lengthening and reconstruction-related procedures.

A triple fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon, he is also recognised for his expertise in deformity reconstruction, and joint preservation in the upper and lower limbs of children and adults.

“I am really excited about what this clinic would mean for patients who unfortunately suffer from various orthopaedic problems around the world. I have had the privilege of being a medical tourism doctor since I started my career. I have patients from more than 100 countries and all 50 states come to me at my practice in the US,” Dr Paley, the founder and director of the Paley Institute in Florida, US, said during the inauguration ceremony attended by officials from the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.

“Orthopaedic care is needed everywhere. I specifically treat a lot of children and adults with genetic, birth defect problems and limb deformities. I’ve treated a lot of patients from this area that come to me in the US. Now, we’ll be able to deliver those types of treatments here,” he told a select group of reporters.

In 2018, Dr Paley expanded into Europe with the opening of the Paley European Institute in Poland. His clinics are renowned for diagnosis and treatment of special orthopedic conditions, including congenital limb deformities, post-traumatic limb conditions, bone healing problems, bone defects, skeletal dysplasia, metabolic disorders, foot deformities, peripheral nerve disorders, and other miscellaneous developmental deformities. The clinic at BMC will offer the same expertise to patients.

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“To be here for the first time in Asia, and kind of the heart of this hemisphere, I mean, we have over 2 billion people in a radius of 5 hours travel from here. I think the potential to serve children and adults, who are unfortunate to suffer from various orthopaedic disabilities, pain, challenges, is going to be improved by this clinic.”

This week, the Paley Middle East Clinic will conduct 18 surgeries, including those performed on 15 Emiratis, and two Russians and a 10-month-old Pakistani baby flying into Abu Dhabi in a couple of days.

Saving diabetic foot from amputation

Dr Paley underlined that several specialties are already being offered by other healthcare facilities in the UAE, but his clinic will “add value” with treatments not available in the region.

“This area has a very high rate of diabetes, which causes all kinds of foot problems. It causes a condition called Charcot Foot or neuropathic foot, where you lose the feeling in the bone. So, you end up breaking and damaging the joints. We have the number one guy in treating neuropathic feet probably in the world.”

Dr Paley is hopeful of saving the feet of diabetic patients from amputation and offers support to amputees.

“We will be saving diabetic feet when most other people amputate them. We do treatments on people who already have an amputation like let’s say above knee amputation. They have to wear a big socket and they’re heavy and so on. The latest thing is called Osseointegration, where you put in a metal prosthetic inside the end of the bone through the skin, and you now attach the prosthesis to the metal directly to the bone, just like a dental implant. Now you do the same thing totally unavailable here,” said Dr Paley, who is also the founder and director of the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics and the director of the International Center for Limb Lengthening at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, US.

Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, founder and chairman, Burjeel Holdings, along with CEO John Sunil, COO Safeer Ahamed, and Omran AlKhoori, president, business development, were present at the launch ceremony.

Dr Shamsheer is confident that initiatives like the new clinic will make Abu Dhabi as the capital for medical tourism.

“This is a great day for us. I thank Dr Paley for trusting us. I hope we will do justice. We will offer all support to make Abu Dhabi the capital of medical tourism. We hope to serve patients from different parts of the world here.”

Along with Dr Paley, the medical team comprising orthopaedic experts, including Dr David Feldman (hip and spine surgeon and an expert in arthrogryposis), Dr Michael Uglow (expertise in children’s orthopaedics, specialising in limb length and deformity correction, foot and ankle surgery), and Dr Irshad Waheed (orthopaedic surgeon skilled in limb lengthening and deformity correction), will offer their services at the clinic.

“We are excited to welcome Dr Paley to our thriving practice. We believe his expertise will help the people in the region avail of almost every aspect of orthopaedic and neurosurgical care, making the UAE a most sought-after hub for such services,” added Sunil.

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