Our maternity unit is considered one of the busiest in Lebanon, with approximately 1500 births a year. Each pregnant woman receives individualized care for her unique needs. Our team of highly qualified professionals includes obstetricians, perinatologists, and neonatologists who offer women the expert care of a major academic teaching institution, with the warmth and personal touch that there is to offer. We also offer a variety of specialized treatments and services dealing with both normal and complicated pregnancies to ensure the best outcome for both the mother and newborn. Advanced prenatal diagnostic ultrasonography and antenatal genetic testing have been available for a long time and were further developed with the introduction of molecular genetic testing. The state-of-the-art newly renovated intensive care nursery has enabled us to deal with complicated and preterm deliveries. Our delivery suite is undergoing a face lift and we are expected to get a new central monitoring system with a feature that will enable us to have remote access to fetal heart tracings.
- The first cesarean section in Lebanon was performed at the Department back in 1908.
- In the 1950s, the residency program was expanded in line with the requirements of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
- In 1958, Dr. Bickers convinced Dr. Brandstater, the chairman of the anesthesia department then, to perform the first epidural anesthesia for painless obstetric deliveries in Lebanon and the region.
Our Department offers the latest options in gynecological care for women at every age. The choice of services ranges from routine gynecological exams and primary health screening to less invasive alternatives to gynecological surgery. Our obstetricians and gynecologists share a common commitment to understanding each woman’s unique needs and providing expert care accordingly. Our gynecological services include: routine gynecological care, (such as treatment of endometriosis, pelvic pain, sexually-transmitted diseases, the symptoms of menopause, and uterine fibroids), adolescent gynecology, medical and surgical treatment of gynecologic problems, diagnostic and operative laparoscopy, endoscopy, non-surgical options for certain pathologies, contraceptive counseling, outpatient hysteroscopic evaluation, colposcopy and LEEP procedures, cystometrogram evaluation for women with urinary incontinence, minimally invasive procedures for incontinence such as the newly introduced tension-free vaginal tape procedure, family planning/contraception , gynecologic surgeries, in addition to comprehensive evaluation and treatment of pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, and vulvar pain.
- The Department was a pioneer in introducing Minimally Invasive Surgery to the whole region. Started at AUBMC in the late sixties, culdoscopy became a widely performed procedure in the investigation of infertility and sterilization procedures. This continued until laparoscopy took over in the early seventies.
- The first laparoscopic surgery in the region was performed at AUB in 1973. AUBMC faculty, through the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics established at AUBMC in 1973, trained numerous gynecologists from the Middle East in Minimally Invasive Surgery.
- In recent years, the Department has further excelled in Minimally Invasive Surgery and was the first in Lebanon to perform single port laparoscopy, a technique that is associated with less postoperative pain, less blood loss, faster recovery time, and better cosmetic results.
- Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic surgery is also offered at our Department, as one of few pioneering centers in the region to offer this service. It adds a new tool of Minimally Invasive Surgery techniques to perform gynecological procedures when indicated.
In regards to the field of gynecology oncology, we perform advanced gynecological surgical procedures for endometrial, cervical, ovarian, and vulvar cancers, advanced gynecologic complicated surgery, management gestational trophoblastic diseases, chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers, and radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy, including high dose brachytherapy for cervical, vaginal, and endometrial cancer.
- The gynecologic oncology team has been instrumental in introducing concurrent chemotherapy with radiotherapy for the treatment of cervical cancer in association with the radiotherapy department.
- The Department was the first in the region to offer High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT).
- In vulvar cancer, the department specialists were the first in the region to offer standard sentinel lymph node testing for the early stages as well as advanced complicated surgeries for the advanced stages that include complex flaps.
- In ovarian cancer, the department was a pioneer in the region in introducing the following management strategies: advanced complex debulking procedures that include extensive upper abdominal surgeries, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for certain ovarian and peritoneal carcinomatosis and post-operative intraperitoneal chemotherapy.
Our Ultrasonography Unit performs screening, diagnostic, interventional, as well as, three-dimensional ultrasound images. Our ultrasound technicians are dedicated and professional in their area of expertise. Our attending physicians who perform these ultrasounds are board certified in obstetrics and gynecology with sub-specialization in maternal fetal medicine. Our facility uses expert technology to perform comprehensive surveys of the fetal anatomy to detect fetal anomalies, performing biophysical profile, Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS), genetic amniocentesis, color imagining, Doppler, and three-dimensional ultrasound. These procedures are usually performed to women suffering from condition such as preeclampsia, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, infectious diseases, and others. Otherwise, these procedures are also performed on healthy women who are at high risk due to having recurrent preterm labor and delivery, have twins or triplets, premature membrane ruptures, recurrent pregnancy loss, abnormal alpha fetoprotein (AFP) results, restricted fetal growth and others.- The Department pioneered prenatal diagnostic testing, including amniocentesis (the first performed in Lebanon), intrauterine transfusions, chorionic villus sampling, and fetal reduction in multiple gestations.
The Assisted Reproductive Technology Unit at AUBMC started in 1993. AUBMC was one of the first centers in Lebanon to start this novel technique with a high success rate. In addition, we have almost the largest number of cycles performed per month in Lebanon, and the load is increasingly constantly. The Unit offers various aspects of assisted reproductive technologies and is enhanced by pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Our team of specialists is made up of highly experienced and board certified professionals with sub-specialization in Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Reproductive Medicine. Each couple is offered an individualized program to cope with their infertility and reproductive problems. The laboratory offers a wide array of procedures ranging from intracytoplasmic sperm injection, blastocyst culture, assisted hatching, preimplantation genetic diagnosis ,cryopreservation, and others, all in a highly specialized state-of-the-art setting. Lastly, the ART at AUBMC offers a high success rate thanks to the efforts of the professional medical team and efficiency of the laboratory staff.
Our Sexual Health Unit at AUBMC provides services for both men and women. Our goal is to allow a complete management of sexual health. We deal with the four aspects of sexual medicine:
- Education (to increase awareness and help you achieve good sexual health)
- Counseling (for prevention)
- Clinical treatment (for specific sexual disorders)
- Rehabilitation (to help you regain sexual health).
- Urinary incontinence
- Voiding difficulties
- Fecal incontinence
- Pelvic organ prolapse ("dropped" uterus, bladder, rectum, or vagina).
- Bladder pain syndrome
- Vulvar pain syndrome
- Sexual dysfunction resulting from incontinence, prolapse, or resulting from their corrective surgeries
Our staff is dedicated to help women suffering from these troubling conditions, and to evaluate previous unsuccessful treatments. Available diagnostic modalities include Urodynamic testing, cystoscopy and ultrasound.
Non surgical interventions such as behavioral modification, medications, and pessaries are offered when appropriate.
Women may also benefit from the latest surgical innovations, including minimally invasive surgery.
Our staff enjoys active collaboration with worldwide experts in this field.
