Surgeons at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday announced that its surgical department successfully completed the first laparoscopic liver resection in the hospital’s history, with the assistance of their Chinese counterparts.
The ground-breaking procedure was performed by Dr Zhao Chang Yong, head of the 19th China Medical Team, in collaboration with GPH’s Dr Adhikar Ramjoo and Dr Andrea Kissoon. This team of surgeons, the release disclosed, executed the complex surgery on a 49-year-old female patient diagnosed with colorectal cancer liver metastasis.
The release explained that liver metastases occur in approximately 15 to 25 per cent of patients with colorectal cancer and are the leading cause of mortality in these patients. Without intervention, fewer than five per cent of patients survive beyond five years. As such, surgical resection is considered the most effective treatment for liver metastases, offering patients the only potential cure through complete tumour removal. The success of such surgeries depends on various factors, including tumour size, location, and extent, and can involve either open surgery or minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques. The goal is to remove as much of the tumour as possible while preserving healthy tissue, ultimately improving patient survival outcomes.