Surgeons at St Petersburg University remove a complex tumour recurrence by performing a vein graft using porcine heart sheaths
Surgeons at the St Petersburg University Clinic of High Medical Technologies have carried out a complex six-hour operation to remove a recurrence of a cancerous tumour of the colon in a patient from Nizhny Novgorod.
Previously, the woman was refused treatment because of the complicated localisation of the tumour near the vena cava and aorta. In order to help the patient and remove the recurrence completely, the surgeons had to remove and then replace the vena cava section. The specialists at St Petersburg University decided to use xenopericardium, a porcine heart sheath, as modern synthetic materials are less effective.
The operation involved excision of the right side of the colon with further placement of a graft and a vena cava graft. The operation lasted about six hours and resulted in the complete removal of the recurrent tumour.
The patient is now under the care of local specialists. She will have a computed tomography scan in three months’ time and visit her attending physician for a check-up.
Such complex operations require the work of top-class specialists and the use of expert equipment and high quality materials. To perform the operation, St Petersburg University Clinic formed a multidisciplinary team that included oncology surgeons, cardiac surgeons, a vascular surgeon and anaesthetists.