He Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Barcelona) is the first in the world in making abdominal reconstructions that completely recover the functionality of this area of the human body. It is intended for patients who had lost this functionality of this area due to cancer or an accident, mainly. The health center has already operated five patients, four of them successfully. It is a highly complex surgery, with which you have to be very selective.
The Barcelona hospital develops a “world-renowned” surgery that saves patients who have had cancer or a traffic accident
The patients who can benefit are, mainly, those who have a sarcoma (a type of soft tissue tumor for which Sant Pau is also a national reference) in the abdomen and those who have suffered a accident in this area of the body. Sant Pau believes that it could operate at about four or five patients year. It is a “reference surgery at an international and global level”, In the words of the Health Minister, Manel Balcells, which also “greatly” improves the quality of life of patients.
The abdominal wall is “very important” to maintain trunk stability. For example, the movement of the legs is related to the abdominal wall, as explained this Wednesday at a press conference. José A. González, clinical head of General and Digestive Surgery of Sant Pau. That’s why your reconstruction It is so important for those patients who have gone through situations (oncological resections, consequences of trauma or radiotherapy, or post-surgical complications) that have made them lose functionality of the abdomen.
Sant Pau has become a benchmark in the world in this novel surgery (led by the team of Plastic surgery) which consists of the removal of a dispensable muscle of the body and placing it in the space left by the previous illness. Next, we proceed to reconnection of blood vessels and nerves, which are what allow the recovery of the patient’s movement.
Pink She is one of the patients successfully operated on through this surgery. Four years ago she had a very serious accident in Tenerife. “I had surgery there between life and death. “They saved my life, but I was admitted to the island for a month,” she explained to journalists today. The woman came out of the surgery in Tenerife alive, but He had lost the mobility of his abdomen. He lived with a swollen stomach and a collection bag. “I could go outside but I assumed I would live the rest of my life in poor health.”
But once she returned to Barcelona, Rosa fell into the doctor’s hands. Manuel Fernández-Garrido, deputy of the Sant Pau Plastic Surgery Service. Now it is “perfect.” “I’m the same as before. I live with great enthusiasm for everything because I have had a very bad time. I’m going to walk and swim, and they even told me I could ski again, although I gave up skiing years ago,” said this woman.
“We have achieved completely restore muscle function normal abdominal that the patient had before the intervention. The new muscle regains the ability to contract and is able to maintain the same activity of the original muscle and his tone. With this structural and functional reconstruction, patients return to a completely normal life,” highlighted Dr. Fernández-Garrido.
This type of intervention also involves offering a reconstructive option ideal for patients who, without it, were either considered inoperable (palliative) or consequences of the intervention previously radically decreased their quality of life. Dr. Fernández-Garrido has given the example of another patient: a young woman who had Ewing’s sarcoma removed in the abdomen. After the reconstruction carried out by Sant Pau, the woman could she get pregnant and give birth without any problem. With this surgery, not only is the normal quality of life recovered, but it also increases the overall survival from the patients.
How was it done until now?
Related news
Until now, abdominal wall reconstruction It was only structural: Once the tumor was removed, a mesh to hold internal organs and the area was covered with skin. This, however, meant the loss of muscle, which is the most important functional structure of the abdominal wall, as it maintains the internal abdominal organs. in your place and what is essential to make any natural movement, as the doctors have explained.
Furthermore, this exposed the patient to a wide range of complications postoperative conditions (such as fistulas or chronic infections), especially serious for oncology patients. “Now, with functional reconstruction we have a living tissue that is revascularized and reinnervated, so it does not atrophy and is more resistant to the aggression of local radiotherapy,” highlights Dr. González.