Revealed: ‘Rogue’ kids’s physician nonetheless working on youngsters in Dubai

A ‘rogue’ children’s doctor who treated 721 children at Great Ormond Street Hospital, leaving some with serious injuries, different leg lengths and even requiring amputations is continuing to operate on unsuspecting patients in Dubai.

Former NHS surgeon Yaser Jabbar, 43, stopped treating patients at the hospital in 2022, after concerns were raised about his work, before moving to the Middle East and claiming to be one of the most sought-after doctors in his field.

Now he is living in Dubai where he speaks about his ‘expertise’ at conferences and continues to operate on children at the Clemenceau Medical Center and at hospitals for orthopaedics specialists Orthocure, their websites show. 

Great Ormond Street has launched an urgent review of all the youngsters treated by Jabbar in its orthopaedic department after colleagues and the families of his patients complained about his conduct.

Out of just 37 children treated by Jabbar at the UK’s most famous children’s hospital who have already been assessed, 22 of them have reportedly come to some degree of harm with 13 classed as severe harm, according to leaked documents from a review by the hospital. 

One child needed to have a leg amputated following a surgery carried out by Jabbar and another is facing the threat of amputation. 

Some have been left with different length legs, in some cases by as much as 20cm, while other injuries include muscle damage and nerve injuries. 

But despite leaving the London hospital facing a storm of complaints, Jabbar seems to have continued his career with no interruptions in Dubai.

He is due to speak next week at a Dubai medical conference, the MENA International Orthopaedics Congress. Announcing him as a speaker in July, organisers encouraged attendees to register for the event, saying: ‘Join us to gain knowledge from his wealth of experience!’

That ‘wealth of experience’ ended with Jabbar taking a fully-paid 11-month sabbatical before leaving the hospital altogether as concerns mounted over his treatments.

He is accused of carrying out an unknown number of unnecessary and harmful surgeries on children as young as four-months old.

A confidential report into his work found young patients were subjected to procedures that were not beneficial or justified. 

In May, he spoke at another conference in Dubai where he discussed the role of AI in healthcare. 

Posting on social media, Jabbar said at the time: ‘Healthcare is in crisis almost universally and presents unique challenges for the personnel journey.

‘Hopefully, by sharing the experiences of myself and others we can have a small but profound impact, starting in a region that still has so much to offer. 

‘Let’s not repeat the mistakes of others, but learn and forge a new way’.

Jabbar continues to operate on both adult and children at the Clemenceau Medical Center (CMC) and is also listed as a consultant at Orthocure, both in Dubai.

CMC describes Jabbar as ‘internationally sought for both adult and paediatric trauma and reconstruction, and is considered a leading figure in the region.’

Describing his career, it adds Jabbar was ‘recognised for his expertise and appointed as a consultant limb reconstruction surgeon at the world-renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.’

It makes no mention of the reasons for his departure.

Orthocure also heaps praise on Jabbar, describing him as ‘internationally sought after’ with more than 20 years of clinical experience.

It claims he has a ‘sizable international and embassy patient base’. 

While Jabbar has moved away from UK jurisdiction, parents of his patients at Great Ormond Street have said they are ‘very upset’ with the treatment that their children received under Jabbar’s care. 

One father of a six-year-old boy said his child suffered ‘terrible pain’ after undergoing a lower limb reconstruction in July 2021.  

This procedure involved surgically breaking the bone, then inserting metal rings, known as Ilizarov frames, and tension wires to hold the leg in place. 

He said that he raised concerns when a different frame was used during the operation. 

‘After a couple of days the frame became loose and my child was in a lot of pain. You could feel the bone in his leg, which felt out of position, like it wasn’t lined up and was protruding the wrong way,’ the father told The Times. 

‘We tried to raise our concerns repeatedly through the official complaints procedure, and I copied the clinical director into many emails, but heard nothing back’, he added. 

The father said the initial investigation that was carried out left him feeling as if everything was being ‘brushed under the carpet’ which was ‘very upsetting’. 

He said his child was in ‘terrible pain’ and was forced to undergo more surgeries to correct ‘errors’ made in the initial operation. 

A review of the youngster’s case found Jabbar’s surgery was ‘incorrect and unsuitable’ for the patient.

An investigation by the hospital comes following a confidential investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons who produced a damning report on Jabbar’s practices earlier this year.

It said he had shown ‘unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour’, which included being aggressive towards colleagues. 

During his UK career Jabbar worked across several different hospitals and also travelled abroad to perform operations.

Social media posts show he also participated in teaching exercises at universities including Imperial. 

It is understood the concerns relate to lower limb reconstruction, which included limb-lengthening operations involving a clinical device called a Ilizarov frame.

The metal apparatus, invented by Soviet physician Dr. Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, is composed of stainless steel rings which are fixed to the bone with wires and pins and is gradually stretched to lengthen the bones.

The functions of the apparatus were derived from the mechanics of a shaft bow on a horse’s harness.

Jabbar left Great Ormond Street last September after an 11-month sabbatical on full pay that he took after concerns were raised about his practices.

A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children said: ‘We are committed to learning from every single patient that we treat, and to being open and transparent with our families when care falls below the high standards we strive for.

‘Following concerns raised by our staff and families, we asked the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to review our paediatric orthopaedic service. We accept the findings in full and are taking steps to act on all its recommendations.

‘As part of the review, the RCS raised concerns around the practice of a surgeon who no longer works at the Trust, and other practice within the service. We are taking these concerns incredibly seriously. 

‘We have contacted all patients of the surgeon and a group of independent experts from other paediatric hospitals are reviewing the care of all the patients of this surgeon. We are incredibly sorry for the worry and uncertainty this review may cause them.

‘There are a number of clear routes for staff to raise concerns – the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian service, the Patient Safety team, any member of the Executive team and a Non-Executive Director with responsibility for Freedom to Speak Up. 

‘Despite thorough investigations, we can find no records of concerns being raised by any of these routes prior to June 2022.

‘Staff made senior management aware of concerns in June 2022 and a fact-finding investigation started shortly after, with follow up actions and reviews to address immediate issues, leading us to contact the RCS within 18 working days from the point senior management were made aware to discuss commissioning an external review.

‘Following the return of the reports from the RCS, our Orthopaedic Service Review Improvement Programme has since April 2024 been overseeing work to review the patients of the surgeon and wider service improvement work. We apologise to patients and families who have been impacted.

‘Reviews into services or individuals are an important part of our work to ensure the quality and safety of our services. We will ensure that the all the findings of this review are addressed at pace, and we will reflect on any wider learnings around our culture.

‘We have contacted all patients and families who have been impacted and where harm has been identified, discussed their cases with them under our duty of candour. To all of them, we wish to convey our sincere apologies.’

Dr Jabbar, MENA, the CMC and Orthocure have been contacted for comment.