Master's student in Health Technologies performs unprecedented surgery in the North-Northeast

The doctor and student of the Professional Master's in Health Technologies program Ronald Delgado performed an experimental and innovative surgical procedure, achieving pioneering success in the North-Northeast. The intervention was carried out at the Surgical Center of Hospital Santa Izabel, on September 5th, with the aim of preserving the fertility of a young patient with rectal cancer. Treatment of this cancer consists of radiotherapy sessions, followed by rectosigmoidectomy. Radiotherapy in this location affects the ovaries, tubes and uterus, compromising fertility and causing early menopause.

To preserve the patient's fertility, the surgeon used an innovative technique, developed by doctor Reitan Ribeiro, which transfers the reproductive organs – ovaries, tubes and uterus – to the upper part of the abdomen, in order to keep them intact during radiotherapy, which would affect the patient's uterus and prevent future pregnancy. At the end of the treatment, the uterus, tubes and ovaries will be replaced in their original location. Ronald Delgado's expectation is that the physiology and anatomy of the uterus, tubes and ovaries will be preserved, thus offering an opportunity for the patient to have spontaneous pregnancies.

During surgery, another innovative technique was also used, developed by Delgado himself for effective intraoperative ureteral visualization, in real time, using indocyanine green and a video device with an infrared fluorescence system. This visualization technique significantly reduces the risk of ureteral injury. Uterine transposition is performed as an experimental study. The first report of this surgery being carried out successfully in Brazil was by surgeon Reitan Ribeiro, in 2017, in the city of Curitiba. It is currently a procedure adopted in some advanced health centers in Europe and the United States.