Master-class lasted three days at the Regional Cancer Center

The main topic of the master-class was the technique of extended gastropancreatoduodenal resection (GPDR). It was held by the deputy head physician for surgical care at Irkutsk Regional Cancer Center, MD, professor Rodion Rasulov. Such surgeries have been performed worldwide for more than a hundred years, but to this day they are implemented with varying success, since these operations are very difficult to perform, belonging to the 5-6 complexity level.

For three days the master-class participants watched their Irkutsk colleagues operate on patients with locally advanced cancer: tumors of the head of the pancreas, major duodenal papilla, and duodenum. In all three cases, malignant tumors spread to the surrounding organs and tissues, including the major vessels of the abdomen. The patients for the master-class were selected for a demonstration of the extended GPDR technique, when this resection must be also performed for the major vessels involved in the tumor process, followed by restoration of the main blood flow. Now histologists are studying the tissue samples removed from these patients. Later it will be possible to make further prognosis for the operated patients. At the moment, it can be stated that all operations were performed in a radical volume.

            

“We plan to hold such master-classes in the future: today in Russia, very few surgical oncologists undertake to perform such operations. Moreover, I am talking about expert colleagues with many years of experience: even they have many questions and misunderstandings on this topic. After all, the periampullary zone is a very difficult area to operate on, that gives many postoperative complications. We also had many questions – but we managed to find answers to most of them. We successfully perform 45-60 such operations annually. So, we consider the main task of these master-classes to be the formation of a cohort of doctors in the country who will be able to use our experience and operate oncologically and ablastically on these tumors,” summarizes Rodion Rasulov.