Gemelli Molise, laparoscopic column for cancer interventions

Laparoscopic surgery less and less invasive and with high standards of care. It is the last frontier of new surgical techniques that can now count on a new highly performing instrument: the laparoscopic column, used in a few centers in Italy. One of these is the Gemelli Molise, a highly specialized hospital based in Campobasso. The structure – recalls a note – houses 130 beds, with highly specialized units for cardiovascular diseases and oncology, and is a university and research center. The Department of Oncology directed by Francesco Cosentino, with the Oncological Gynecology Units directed by Cosentino and General and Oncological Surgery directed by Pier Francesco Alesina – they report from the hospital – is one of the few centers in Italy to have a column of this type, of the latest generation, which improves the quality of the image and therefore the safety of the intervention. This tool is a new weapon with which to combat colorectal cancers which represent the third most common form of cancer in the world, with 1.8 million new cases in 2018 and over 43,700 diagnoses in Italy alone in 2020. But also those of the stomach which, according to the latest Airc (Italian Association for Cancer Research) data, in Italy are estimated to affect approximately 8,400 men and 6,100 women each year. “This is a method associated with lower risk of complications, which reduces significantly post-operative pain. The patient can get back on their feet after one or 2 days and resume normal mobility, “says Alesina. “The laparoscopic column in use at Gemelli Molise represents the best there is today on the world market – assures Cosentino – It is a high precision instrument that greatly reduces the risk margins, inherent in any type of surgical therapy”. The laparoscopic column – the note details – is a system of interconnected instruments whose last piece, the most important, is a camera that is inserted through a 1 centimeter hole in the patient’s abdomen, and is connected to a series of light sources and devices that allow the surgeon a very high resolution vision. Thus, even the smallest anatomical structures can be observed, working with millimeter precision to remove only the neoplastic tissue and preserving the healthy one. “The image that the surgeon visualizes is three-dimensional, therefore as realistic as possible – highlights Cosentino – There are special filters that allow you to ‘color’ the tissues, distinguishing the parts to be removed thanks to the chromatic differences”. During two meetings – one promoted by Cosentino on deep endometriosis with intestinal resection, the other dedicated to endocrine surgery and in particular to adrenal surgery, which was attended by among others Rocco Bellantone, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the Foundation A. Gemelli Irccs University Polyclinic in Rome, the scientific director Giovanni Scambia and Vincenzo Valentini, the scientific director of Gemelli Molise – among other things, we discussed a specific method of application of the laparoscopic column, the retroperitonescopic adrenalectomy. It is “a brand new technique that only a few centers in Italy can carry out “, continue from the Molise structure. It consists in the minimally invasive removal of adrenal tumors, avoiding to cross the abdominal cavity. It is estimated that 3-5% of people in Italy have a mass in the adrenal gland. Fortunately, only 10% of these are malignant. According to Airtum data (Italian Association of Cancer Registries), the incidence is 1-2 cases per million people, but only 30% of cases are diagnosed early. “Laparoscopic surgery and innovations in surgery are models of the highest standards of care and distinguish the new path that Gemelli Molise general surgery has taken”, concludes the hospital.