The 53-year-old Ms. Kuang (assumed name) with breast cancer has recently undergone surgery at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. With the assistance of a robot, experts not only removed the patient's tumor, but also used her belly fat to help her reconstruct a breast.
It is the first breast-markless robot-assisted Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) and Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DIEP) flap in South China.
During surgery. (Photo provided to GDToday)
Ms. Kuang suffered from left-sided breast cancer. Due to the large size of the tumor, the local hospital recommended that she undergo a total mastectomy. However, she did not want to lose her breast and went to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital for medical treatment.
The examination showed that Ms. Kuang's tumor had a large invasion area, but fortunately, the imaging results indicated that her breast skin was not invaded. Given her health conditions and needs, Su Shicheng, director of the Breast Endoscopy Center of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, and his team decided to carry out robot-assisted NSM and DIEP flap surgery for her.
Su Shicheng prepares to start robotic surgery. (Photo provided to GDToday)
The belly fat was used to reconstruct a breast for the patient. "On the one hand, the reconstructed breast is closer to the real breast shape. On the other hand, compared with implants, for example, prostheses, autologous tissue transplantation does not have problems such as foreign body response, and it is safer after surgery," said Su.
"Robot-assisted surgery has many advantages." According to Su, the robot arm can imitate human wrist movements and perform surgical operations flexibly. And its small size makes it easier to operate in deeper and smaller spaces, improving the accuracy and safety of operations. At the same time, the surgical field of view under the robotic system can achieve a 20-fold magnification effect, just like using a microscope to perform surgery. The field of view is wider and clearer than open surgery, and can reduce additional damage to surrounding tissues.
With the cooperation of the hospital's breast team, the robot-assisted surgery was completed in eight hours. Ms. Kuang recovered quickly after the operation and her wound healed well. She said: "I am very satisfied with this operation. When I woke up, the cancerous breast had turned into a new one, with no wounds seen on the surface."
Author | Hannah
Editor | Wing, Steven, Monica, Jerry
