Tag Archives: surgeons

Most women with early-stage breast cancer avoid extensive lymph node removal

Until now, it was unclear to what extent surgeons were following the recommendations of a landmark clinical trial published more than four years ago, known as the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011, or ACOSOG Z-11, trial. Those researchers reported that most early-stage breast cancer patients with tumor in their sentinel lymph node (the first draining node) who undergo lumpectomy do not benefit from surgical removal of the remaining lymph nodes in the underarm area, called completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). That study found no difference in cancer recurrence1 and five-year survival2 between patients who underwent ALND and those who did not but were monitored for recurrences…

More high-risk surgical patients are choosing breast reconstruction procedures after mastectomy — ScienceDaily

The team of investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, analyzed data from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society, and looked at more than 1 million women who underwent mastectomy due to breast cancer between 1998 and 2011. …

U.S. has seen widespread adoption of robot-assisted cancer surgery to remove the prostate

In 2001, surgeons began using robotic technologies in operations to remove the prostate. To examine trends in the use of such robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures for prostate cancer patients, Steven Chang, MD, MS, of Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, led a team that analyzed 489,369 men who underwent non-RARP (i.e., open or laparoscopic radical prostatectomy) or RARP in the United States from 2003 to 2010. During the study period, RARP adoption (defined as performing more than 50 percent of annual radical prostatectomies with the robotic approach) increased from 0.7 percent to 42 percent of surgeons performing radical prostatectomies. Surgeons who performed at least 25 radical prostatectomies each year were more likely to adopt RARP…

U.S. has seen widespread adoption of robot-assisted cancer surgery to remove the prostate — ScienceDaily

In 2001, surgeons began using robotic technologies in operations to remove the prostate. To examine trends in the use of such robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures for prostate cancer patients, Steven Chang, MD, MS, of Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, led a team that analyzed 489,369 men who underwent non-RARP (i.e., open or laparoscopic radical prostatectomy) or RARP in the United States from 2003 to 2010. During the study period, RARP adoption (defined as performing more than 50 percent of annual radical prostatectomies with the robotic approach) increased from 0.7 percent to 42 percent of surgeons performing radical prostatectomies. Surgeons who performed at least 25 radical prostatectomies each year were more likely to adopt RARP…

Minimally invasive operation helps elderly patients after colon cancer treatment

Investigators from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, found that selected patients over the age of 70 were more likely to be discharged to their own homes — instead of a nursing facility — following laparoscopic operations when compared with patients who had a standard open surgical procedure, according to Richard Liu, MD, a resident in general surgery. "There is evidence that laparoscopic surgical treatment for colon cancer is similar to an open operation in terms of outcomes from a cancer treatment point of view," Dr. Liu said…