From Messina to Washington: the “tailored” robotic surgery of the IRCCS Bonino Pulejo that saves the kidney

The urology unit of the Irccs Bonino Pulejo of Messina brought its clinical results to the American Urological Association (AUA) congress in Washington and obtained thanks to the synergy between robotic surgery with the Da Vinci system and the cutting-edge approaches applied to partial nephrectomy, a surgical operation that aims to remove only and exclusively the tumor mass, in selected cases, safeguarding the healthy kidney tissue. Traditional robot-assisted surgery in this type of operation usually involves two critical steps: “clamping”, the temporary interruption of the blood flow to the kidney to operate without bleeding, and the subsequent application of stitches on the area affected by the removal of the tumor. Both, however, involve risks: the lack of oxygen can damage healthy tissue and the stitches can cause small necrosis as well as the risk of pseudoaneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas. The objective is to offer a ‘tailored’ surgery tailor-made for the patient, precisely removing the tumor mass and preserving the healthy kidney. The study data confirm the effectiveness of the procedure: renal function (creatinine) remains unchanged, operating times reduced with minimal tissue trauma, rapid recoveries with discharge in 48-72 hours, no significant complications occurred, optimal oncological radicality with negative margins in almost all cases.