From an isolated island to mainland – How we started laparoscopic liver resections in a very young HBP department

Abstract

Background: In august 2013 a new department of Surgical Oncology with a focus on HBP surgery was founded inside our General Surgery Hospital. The division was established by a group of 2 enthusiastic young surgeons trained in western academic institutions. Methods: The first cases of anatomical liver resections were made by open approach and until 2016, only liver biopsies or atypical peripheral metastasectomies were performed by laparoscopy. In 2016 we performed 7 cases of anatomical laparoscopic liver resections which we case-matched with 7 cases performed by our mentors, in our "mother" department, the University Hospital in Antwerpen Belgium (UZA). Results: The procedures time was almost similar and postoperative evolution was also comparable as results in terms of complications and blood loss. A longer admission time was observed in all our cases compared to the belgian counterparts. Due to the presence of our surgeons in Belgium during some of the cases of laparoscopic liver resections and being part of the team at the beginining of the learning curve, our surgeons also faced near the belgian counterparts the shortcoming and tries of the period, making it more easy to apply it at home. Conclusion: Due to the presence of our romanian surgical team at the beginning of laparoscopic liver resections era in UZA, our surgeons learned how to start this new chapter in our home institution, managed to solve the intraoperative complications and postoperative events and strengthen a new department in our hospital.