Former Cowboys participant and bariatric surgeon Dr Scott Whiting has carried out the minimally invasive Ivor Lewis esophagectomy surgical procedure on a affected person at Mater Private Hospital Townsville.
Traditionally, esophagectomy surgical procedure is an invasive process carried out with massive incisions made within the affected person’s stomach and chest. Against this, the Ivor Lewis process entails keyhole surgical procedure with small incisions and is just accessible in a handful of hospitals throughout Australia.
“Recovering from incisions can take many months. With a minimally invasive method we are able to get most sufferers house in about one week with considerably much less ache treatment and a decrease an infection charge,” Dr Whiting stated.
Mater Personal Hospital Townsville Govt Officer Libbie Linley stated a whole lot of North Queenslanders will profit from the in depth coaching Dr Whiting undertook on the Norfolk and Norwich College Hospital in the UK to change into achieved within the process.
“To carry out these procedures, surgeons are required to develop their expertise, that are solely present in specialist centres,” she stated.
“It is a nice final result for sufferers who now not need to journey out of North Queensland for the process, they usually can really feel assured receiving the best doable normal of care in Townsville with out having to be distant from their assist community.”
The 2-stage process concerned eradicating the decrease esophagus and prime of the abdomen, together with draining lymph nodes.
The affected person was former Cairns mayor Kevin Byrne, 73, who was discovered to have a 4 cm tumour on the junction between his esophagus and abdomen throughout a gastroscopy in October final 12 months. A tube was made with a part of the abdomen that was later rejoined to the esophagus.
Sufferers requiring this sort of surgical procedure usually current with tumours that trigger signs akin to issue swallowing, weight reduction, ache, reflux (heartburn) and anaemia from bleeding.
Smoking, poorly managed acid reflux disease and weight problems are vital threat components for esophageal most cancers. Dr Whiting stated the minimally invasive process meant a sooner restoration for sufferers.
“Having the ability to journey from Cairns to Townsville to have this carried out is superb. In any other case, I’d have needed to journey to Brisbane and spend much more time recovering in hospital,” Byrne stated.
“My high quality of life has been improved and my prognosis is lots higher now that I’ve had this surgical procedure.”
