Watch: From Owning the First Iron Lung to the Most Luxurious Supercars, This Kuwaiti Doctor in Dubai Is in a Class of His Own

“The instrument was about 200 years old and was apparently used to cut the vein of a sick person and offer a certain amount of the patient’s ‘bad’ blood into a bowl,” he said, adding that bloodletting was a common treatment method until the late 19th century, aimed at expelling the ‘evil’ in a patient.

As Dr. Quttainah traveled back in time, he said he was drawn to more medical instruments from the past as they offered him a rare glimpse into the evolution of medicine. He soon found himself becoming a hobbyist, collecting surgical and other medical equipment from different parts of the world. In 2017, when his personal collection of instruments exceeded 400, he decided to share it with the public by opening the first medical museum of its kind in the GCC. The unique museum, currently based in Kuwait, will soon be expanded to Dubai, he noted.

Dr. Quttainah is the second of three children of a Kuwaiti father and a Danish mother. He is grateful to his parents for instilling in him the inquisitive spirit.

“I had a good childhood and was a good student. I wanted to study engineering like my father, but it seemed my family conspired and sent me to medical school instead,” he laughed.

Fortunately, Dr. Quttainah became increasingly successful and completed three fellowships in cosmetic surgery, microsurgery and research in Canada. He then worked briefly in Saudi Arabia and returned to Kuwait where he established the first hospital. This was followed by two more in Qatar and Dubai.

But despite his demanding schedule as a pangeographic plastic surgeon, Dr. Quttainah finds time to pursue his hobby and educate anyone who will listen about his “medical artifacts,” which he has also meticulously documented in a book titled Medical Museum.

“Many of today’s treatments are based directly on theories and devices developed years ago. While some of the simplest inventions still represent the basic standard of care for many diseases, other devices are completely outdated,” he noted.

Each antique in his collection tells a compelling story.

An Iron Lung obtained by Dr. Quttainah dates back to the 1950s when polio was a raging epidemic. He explained that the machine was a mechanical ventilator that encased most of the patient’s body, varying the air pressure within the enclosed space to assist breathing when muscle control was lost.

Dr. Quttainah pointed out that anesthesia was not only developed in the 1840s but also recounted the history of a large number of carpenter’s saws that were used in the past for amputations. The problem of blood loss and pain associated with this was treated by tying off blood vessels or by using hot irons and burning oil.

Dr. Quttainah recounted the circumstances under which the world’s first stethoscope was invented. He recounted how its inventor, French physician René Laennec, was too embarrassed to place his ear on a female patient’s chest to get a direct hearing, as was the custom at the time.

“He remembered a trick he had learned as a child and rolled up 24 sheets of paper, holding one end to his ear and the other on the woman’s chest so he could hear the sounds inside loud and clear,” he said, adding that the rolls of paper were later replaced with a hollow wooden cylinder.

The first ear trumpets are also a nice story. These funnel-shaped devices were used as hearing aids, because they could capture sound waves and direct them to the ear.

Another curious piece in the collection that Dr. Quttainah shared is a “nose shaper” used in the early 20th century by “a pioneer in nose shaping.”

Made to be worn at night, the metal mask would be adjusted with screws over time in the belief that it would reshape the nose. The device was even patented in the 1920s, the doctor added.

When asked where he gets these pieces, Dr. Quttainah said he started by contacting hospitals, collectors and museums around the world. But today his reputation as a collector of medical antiques has grown far and wide and people with rare pieces are contacting him themselves.

Of course, there are huge costs associated with the purchases, but the doctor considers them “priceless.” Sometimes there are also logistical challenges to overcome, as was the case with a life-size dissectable wax model of the Anatomical Venus that Dr. Quttainah bought in Berlin for $120,000 when it arrived in Kuwait in midsummer.

The doctor’s collection also includes some rare medical books and manuscripts, such as a 1550 publication by the second-century physiologist and philosopher Claudius Galen and an Arabic manuscript by David bin Omar Antioch.

Talking about a best-selling book, The System of Surgery, by Dr. Benjamin Bell, the founder of the Edinburgh School of Surgery, Dr. Quttainah referred to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a medical student under Dr. Joseph Bell, the great-grandson of Dr. Benjamin Bell. Apparently, the famous author applied Dr. Bell’s keen research observations of a patient to the character of Sherlock Homes as we know him today.

Now, just when you think Dr. Quttainah has so much to say about his precious medical possessions, it turns out the father of three has other passions too – as a collector of luxury supercars and art. That calls for another story.

There’s a video on Dr Adel’s Quttainah’s Insta account where, in a lighter tone, he talks about how his staff know when he’s in the house. No guessing there, as he drives into Quttainah Speciality Hospital on Al Wasl Road in a blood-red supercar.

It turns out the customized McLaren is just one of many super-luxury cars in his collection at Adel’s Garage, in his hometown of Kuwait.

When asked how many cars he owns, he answers in all seriousness: “A few.” That’s clearly a relative term when you look at the long list of his cars.

Supercars he owns include the Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss; McLaren Elva; Ferrari Monza SP2; Aston Martin V12 Speedster; Koenigsegg Regera; McLaren Senna; McLaren P1; McLaren 720s; Ferrari SA APERTA 599; Ferrari F12 TDF; Ferrari 812 Competizione; Ferrari 458 Special Aperta; Mercedes AMG One; Aston Martin V12 Zagato; Aston Martin VANQUISH Zagato; Aston Martin G12; Dodge Viper ACR; Mercedes GTR; Mercedes GTR Pro; Mercedes GTR Black Series; Porsche GT2 RS; Ferrari 328 GTS; DINO 246 GTS; Ferrari Testarossa 512M; Aston Martin DB5; and Mercedes 3000 SL Gull Wing.

“The fastest car in this collection is the Kornigsegg Regera; the lightest is the Mcklaren Elva; the biggest adrenaline rush comes from the McLaren Senna; and my favourite is the Aston Martin Speedster,” adds Dr Quattainah.