Scan, diagnosis and operation, all in eight hours. This is how long it took a team from the Strasbourg University Hospitals on October 26 to treat a patient suffering from a small lung tumor. All in the same room!
“It is no longer him who moves but us who move around”, image Professor Anne Olland, who prepared and participated in this world first. She was obviously not alone in this room, accompanied by an interventional radiologist, anesthesiologist, surgeon, nurses, radio technician… Who all worked together, also with a robot, in order to achieve this feat.
Why is this so remarkable? Because “we were more precise in the treatment, faster and more efficient”, she summarizes before explaining the usual process. “Often, nodules, which are not necessarily cancerous, are detected on a lung screening scan. But they are very hard to puncture other than by removing them surgically. And again, it is often complicated because they are only a few millimeters long. »
With the “sequencing” carried out at the end of October in the Alsatian capital, it is easier. The patient is asleep and directly lying in a lateral position, ready for surgery. “Then with the scanner performed live, the interventional radiologist places a small harpoon right at the location of the nodule, a sort of hook,” explains the specialist. “We can then intervene immediately with a 3D reconstruction of the lung to help us. » The surgeon thus sees all the vessels, bronchi and controls the arms of the robot from his console. For maximum precision and efficiency.
“It’s a great tool that allows us to provide an answer to people in whom we find small nodules,” summarizes Anne Olland, who hopes to treat certain people more quickly. And thus avoid the development of certain cancers, such as lung cancer here. “Saving time is crucial. »
For the moment, only one operation of this type, on this specific robot, is scheduled each month in Strasbourg.