Dr. Elias Abi Khalil

MD, FACOG – American board-certified Obstetrics and Gynecology/Advanced Pelvic and Endoscopic Surgery – CMC Dubai

Dr. Elias Abi Khalil

“We Offer Excellence in Care for Women”

The Center of Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery at the Woman’s clinic CMC-Dubai offers excellence in care for women with the latest minimally invasive options. ‘Hospitals’ magazine met with Dr. Elias Abi Khalil, MD, FACOG – American board-certified Obstetrics and Gynecology/Advanced Pelvic and Endoscopic Surgery at CMC Dubai.

Can you brief us about the Center of Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery- at the Woman’s clinic CMC Dubai?

We are a team of endoscopic surgeons offering excellence in care for women with conditions needing advanced gynecologic surgery. We provide comprehensive care for women with conditions including: uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, endometriosis, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, tubal and ovarian cysts – offering the latest minimally invasive options for these conditions.

We strive to provide a safer and more effective alternative to traditional open surgery by performing the vast majority of our procedures via robotic surgery, laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and vaginal surgery. We get referrals from other providers for complicated cases that would otherwise be performed via a large abdominal incision. We are leaders in developing innovative minimally invasive procedures that offer our patients faster recovery, less pain, smaller incisions, early return to normal daily activities and shorter hospital stay. We would also like to shed light on the Woman’s Health Clinic as well.

At the Woman’s Health Clinic-CMC Dubai, women’s health is our priority. We treat complex gynecological and pregnancy problems and provide women with regular preventive care during annual gynecological visits, screening tests for diseases and keeping women healthy through their life cycle.

In addition, patients receive education and awareness about disease symptoms, preventive measures and different treatment options. Our physician specialists offer a wide array of services including: Pregnancy Care, Midwifery Care, Maternal-fetal Medicine, General Gynecology, Minimally Invasive Gynecological Surgery, Urogynecology, Sexual Health, Cosmetic Gynecology, IVF, egg freezing.

Uterine diseases are common during women’s life, whether with cancer or any other benign diseases. What are the most common uterine problems? 

The uterus is often affected by conditions that can affect women’s daily life. Signs of uterine disease could be heavy menstrual bleeding, spotting, severe pelvic and menstrual pain, abnormal discharge, menstrual pain, chronic pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, urinary leakage or incontinence. These can be caused by endometriosis, fibroids, adenomyosis, endometrial hyperplasia, polyps or gynecologic cancers.  Diagnosing these conditions can be challenging sometimes and that’s why they need expertise in the field.

Endometriosis is a challenging condition that can manifest as pelvic pain, infertility. It affects women throughout their lives and can have a significant effect on their daily life. Diagnosing and treating this condition is crucial for the improvement in women’s quality of life.

What are the best practices and methods for diagnosing and treating chronic pelvic pain?

Chronic pelvic pain is debilitating for many women and can affect their quality of life. We manage refractory cases by finding the reason behind the pain and tailor treatment accordingly. We carry out complex endometriosis surgery for deeply infiltrative and advanced cases of endometriosis using our robotic and laparoscopic platforms.  Rectal, bladder and ureteral endometriosis is a common manifestation of the disease that we treat endoscopically in conjunction with our expert general and urologic surgeons.

What are the best practices and methods for diagnosing uterine diseases?

Fibroid management depends on many factors including age, desire for fertility and symptoms you are experiencing. Our consultants will guide you formulate a plan of action tailored to your own case. We perform fibroid and uterine surgery for advanced cases with multiple large fibroids using minimally invasive techniques like robotic, laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery. We make sure surgeries are done with minimal incisions in the safest way possible.

Do you offer treatment for pelvic organ prolapse, urinary leakage and cosmetic surgery?

Our experts in pelvic reconstructive surgery are here to help women with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. They are highly trained in the reconstruction of the pelvis using robotic, laparoscopic and vaginal surgery. They also focus on sexual dysfunction, where women can benefit from the latest customized treatments, including pelvic floor stimulators and laser therapy. They bring as well the latest techniques in cosmetic gynecologic surgery including labiaplasty, vaginoplasty, hoodectomy, etc.

What about the latest developments in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of reproductive health diseases?

We offer the newest technology in diagnostic testing ranging from gynecologic and obstetrics ultrasounds, saline infusion hysterogram, hysterosalpingography, 3D and 4D ultrasounds, office hysteroscopy, etc.

Gynecologic cancers are a big burden on women’s health. Screening is crucial for early diagnosis and treatment. Many of these cancers have very effective screening methods like cervical and breast cancers and can be detected early. Cervical cancer is related to a sexually transmitted virus. Patients can protect themselves by getting vaccinated. The recommended age group for vaccination is between 9 and 45 years of age. We can also detect it early by doing a pap smear. Breast cancer is very common affecting 1 in 8 women. We offer the appropriate screening schedule tailored to each patient depending on her lifetime risk and we can detect early changes in the breast. We strive to provide a safer and more effective alternative to traditional open surgery by performing the vast majority of our procedures via robotic surgery, laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and vaginal surgery.

To what extent early detection and yearly check-up can avoid women complications?

Yearly check-ups are crucial to early diagnosis and treatment of all diseases affecting women’s health. It is a comprehensive check that includes gynecologic and general health checks.  It includes the following:

• Clinical gynecologic exam to screen for pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, heavy bleeding, and many other benign diseases .
• Age and risk-based recommendation for ovarian and breast cancer screening
• Clinical breast exam for prevention of breast cancer.
• Pelvic ultrasound looking for a benign and malignant disease that affects the uterus and ovaries.
• Pap test and HPV for prevention of cervical cancer.
• Age-based screening recommendations for non-gynecologic diseases that affect women depending on their age.