New worldwide Greek success in robotic surgery for surgeon Dr. Konstantinos M. Konstantinidis – 27/10/15

27/10/15

New worldwide Greek success in robotic surgery for surgeon Dr. Konstantinos M. Konstantinidis

The three lectures given by the Greek surgeon Dr. Konstantinos M. Konstantinidis, MD, PhD, FACS, by invitation, as part of the 7th World Congress of Robotic Surgery of the CRSA (Clinical Robotic Surgery Association) in Chicago, October 1-3, 2015, had a great international scientific impact.

The topics of the lectures:

1. “The European experience of robotic ventral hernia”
2. “Robotic inguinal and sports hernia repair: how I do it”
3. “Update on European experience with single-site surgery”

Dr. Konstantinos M. Konstantinidis, Adjunct Professor of Surgery at Ohio State University, USA, President of the Greek Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, Director of General, Bariatric, Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery and Scientific Director of the Athens Medical Center, and President of the European Society of Robotic Surgery, who represented Europe on the topics he was invited to present, convinced the audience with his talks about the excellent results of the techniques he himself has developed and has been using at the Athens Medical Center since 2006.

For the first time in America, he presented his experience in robotic inguinal hernia repair and robotic repair of sports hernia (abdominal adductor syndrome, Athlete’s Hernia, Sportsman’s Hernia).

His talk on this problem affecting athletes included many videos of his own techniques, the result of his vast experience and inventiveness, and earned excellent reviews and many invitations to broadcast his operations live at numerous upcoming international congresses. Using videos of operations, he showed how a robotic solution is possible even in the most difficult cases. His techniques, which were widely discussed by the delegates because of their excellent results, have been applied by him laparoscopically for over 20 years. For the last 10 years, especially in difficult cases such as those previously operated on with open surgery that recurred, he has been applying the robotic technique.

Compared with the open technique, his results are much better with the laparoscopic technique and even better with the robotic technique.

Dr. Konstantinidis has one of the largest experiences in laparoscopic and robotic surgery worldwide, with more than 1,400 robotic procedures and more than 14,500 laparoscopic operations. His laparoscopic procedures for the repair of ventral hernia, umbilical hernia, incisional hernia, inguinal hernia and sports hernia exceed 4,000, and many surgeons from Greece and abroad visit him every week in the state-of-the-art operating room of the Athens Medical Center to learn his techniques, which are completely bloodless and have excellent results with minimal postoperative pain, very fast recovery and less than 1% chance of recurrence. He also often operates on hernia cases in which multiple “open” operations have failed and recurred.

Since 2006 he has applied, for the first time worldwide, the robotic technique for the repair of difficult forms of incisional ventral hernia, and today this technique is considered extremely safe in the hands of surgeons who operate with the da Vinci SI HD. He was the first to apply the technique of parastomal hernia repair with mesh in patients who, after a colostomy (artificial anus), had a hernia around the stoma that caused them many problems in their daily life.

As Dr. K. M. Konstantinidis stated: “Robotic technology in our hands, with the three-dimensional image, the high magnification of up to 10-15 times, the ability to avoid any injury to nerves and vessels and the easy way of suturing and securing the mesh, led my associates and me, several years ago, to the thought that the larger, more difficult and more dangerous the repair of a hernia, as in recurrences after open operations, the easier and safer it becomes with aerospace robotic technology. Especially for athletes, footballers, basketball players etc., who suffer from sports hernia (abdominal adductor syndrome) and must return quickly to their very demanding obligations with no pain at all and without recurrence of their problem, which is often the reason they give up sport forever. We have proven this with our excellent results in many hundreds of athletes since 1995 with our laparoscopic technique, but robotics, in my opinion, will from now on be the future for these operations. That is why it was a great honor for me to be an invited speaker in Chicago, at this exciting CRSA event, and to present the experience of my team and of the whole of Europe. A month ago we presented the results of our technique for athletes at another congress held in Berlin by the New European Surgical Academy, and it was received excellently. The congratulations of my colleagues are a driving force for me to continue my work, as are, of course, the thanks and the gratitude of the people I have operated on so far, who were freed from all the problems caused by the various forms of hernia.

In addition, our single-incision procedures have become a subject of scientific discussion at all surgical congresses, and this gives us the strength to continue our scientific progress for the good of the patients who trust us at the Athens Medical Center. As a Greek surgeon, I feel particularly proud that my distinguished American colleagues honored me once again with this invitation to speak not only about my own experience but also about the results of all European surgeons.”