For over a century, Cedars-Sinai has nurtured strong, collaborative relationships to advance groundbreaking medicine. One of the institution’s most recent collaborations, a high-profile affiliation with The View Hospital in Qatar, is building on that tradition with the establishment of a new international symposium series focused on leading-edge medical innovations.

The series launched this January in Doha, where 300 physicians from across Qatar and around the world gathered to discuss ongoing developments in the field of orthopedics. The event welcomed leading experts from Cedars-Sinai, The View Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation and Aspetar. Participants shared knowledge, highlighted best practices and forged connections with expert colleagues.

"Our goal was to foster an environment where diverse practitioners could gather for lectures and lunch and learn from one another," said Harry Sax, MD, executive vice chair of Surgery and associate dean of international academic programs at Cedars-Sinai. "Allowing people to meet in this kind of informal setting breaks down barriers and enables them to make real progress toward improving outcomes and accelerating discovery."

Speakers at the symposium included David Skaggs, MD, executive vice chair of Orthopaedics and director of the Spine Center at Cedars-Sinai, who discussed emerging trends in spine surgery, including robot-assisted surgery.

"The symposium was great because it brought together top orthopedic surgeons from all around the globe and made us feel like partners," Skaggs said. "As soon as we got back to Los Angeles, we had multiple follow-up calls with people at The View Hospital about how we could collaborate to develop new programs, in Qatar and beyond, in areas of unmet need."

Carlos Guanche, MD, a pioneer in the field of hip arthroscopy and an orthopedist at Cedars-Sinai, gave a presentation on hip-preservation surgery.

"Everyone was incredibly engaged," Guanche said. "It was a long day, but nobody left the room because there was so much great information being offered and so many excellent questions being asked."

Bert Mandelbaum, MD, vice chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai, presented on the role of stem-cell technologies and regenerative orthopedics in treating conditions such as osteoarthritis.

"It was an outstanding event that showcased the very best of Cedars-Sinai, The View Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation and Aspetar," Mandelbaum said. "In addition to shining a light on orthopedic innovation, the symposium also had the effect of unifying these diverse healthcare entities, which was beneficial for everyone involved."

Plans are already underway for a second symposium in 2025.

"We will likely focus either on cardiology—particularly the interventional work we’re doing in heart disease—or obesity, because that has become a real problem in the region," Sax said.

The symposium series and the broader affiliation between Cedars-Sinai and The View Hospital are poised to transform the healthcare landscape in Qatar and the surrounding region.

"The vision and cutting-edge technology fueling this partnership creates all kinds of new possibilities," said Hisam Alahdab, MD, executive director of Cedars-Sinai International at The View Hospital. "We’re opening the door to exciting advances with the power to save patients’ lives."