Specialists from the Metropolitan Hospital performed an innovative robotic surgery. They managed to remove cancer from both lungs through incisions of only 2 centimeters.
Thoracic surgeons at the medical center performed the procedure the same day. “This technique is known as uniportal VATS and consists of making a single incision of 2 to 3 centimeters. Through it, the camera and surgical instruments are introduced. In this case, 2 surgeries were performed; one in each lung”, explained the experts.
In addition, among the benefits of this procedure are:
• It is minimally invasive, since an incision of up to 15 centimeters or more should not be made, as in conventional surgery.
• By not having to open the ribs, the patient will have less pain.
• Recovery is estimated to be faster.
The Metropolitan Hospital has performed this technique on several occasions, but for this surgery the “father” of the procedure, the Spanish surgeon Diego González, participated. “I learned from the best, from the inventor of this technique; it is now moving into single-port robotic surgery. His motivation is to find less invasive procedures and maintain good oncological results”, commented William Guido, a thoracic surgeon at Metropolitan Hospital.
About the patient
Regarding the patient who received the surgery, the doctors explained that she is 41 years old and suffered from synovial sarcoma, a very aggressive type of cancer. “First, she received chemotherapy and then it was decided to perform surgery. Due to her condition, it was important to use the least invasive technique and that she was in the operating room for the shortest possible time”, explained Guido.
In addition, the specialists emphasize that it was a “race against time”, since they only had a week to prepare the patient. “After chemotherapy, she was malnourished; that is, decreased muscle mass and anemia. She entered a nutritional plan, injections to stimulate the production of red blood cells and exercise”, said Mayra Vaca, anesthesiologist. The surgery was performed on May 5th and with the postoperative monitoring, she is recovering satisfactorily.
