During the beginnig of April, 2016, at the invitation of organizers from the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, the UKC Tuzla team of thoracic surgeons attended the 1st South Eastern European Joint Meeting of Thoracic Anesthesthesiologists and Surgeons in Split, Croatia. The meeting attended esteemed experts from Spain, Turkey, Slovenia and Croatia, and our thoracic surgeons had the opportunity to present an innovative minimally invasive approach in the treatment of thoracic disease- the uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).
As Prof. Dr. Goran Krdžalić explained, this is one of the most difficult surgical procedures being performed using a small video camera and instruments through a 4 cm incision. In the region, VATS procedure has been currently performed only in Ljubljana, Tuzla and Split.
“Unlike traditional open surgery and conventional VATS technique, which necessitate large incision or 3 or more incisions, this approach allows for a faster sugical performance through a small incision, as well as a faster recovery by the patient.” he said and added that the team from the Department of Thoracic Surgery have already conducted 15 uniportal VATS surgeries.
“Two uniportal surgeries deserve special mention, the first removal of the thymus in a patient with myastenia gravis, and the second was the removal of a large paravertebral tumor in a 20-year-old patient. Both patients left the clinic on the third postoperative day, with minimal postoperative scar, so we can say that these results are very encouraging and promising.” said Prof. Dr. Krdžalić.
The UKC Tuzla team of thoracic surgeons enjoy the support of Dr.Diego Gonzalez Rivas from Spain, and Dr. Tomaž Šupnik from Slovenia, the world-known experts in the use of uniportal technique.The next planning step of our thoracic surgeons Prof.Dr. Goran Krdžalić, Dr. Nermin Mušanović and Dr. Amar Kešetović would be to perform lung and esophagus resection for cancer by the uniportal VATS technique.