The Limited Times

Minimally invasive technique saves a child with pulmonary malformation

10/14/2022, 7:50:06 AM


A 6-year-old boy with a severe congenital pulmonary malformation underwent a delicate operation with a minimally invasive technique at the Niguarda hospital in Milan. (HANDLE)

(ANSA) - MILAN, OCTOBER 14 - A 6-year-old boy with a severe congenital lung malformation underwent a delicate operation with a minimally invasive technique at the Niguarda hospital in Milan.

Three microincisions allowed the patient's diseased lung lobe to be removed, which did not allow his lungs and heart to function properly.

The complex procedure was conducted by the Niguarda Pediatric Surgery team together with the American Steven Rothenberg, the world's leading expert in Pediatric Thoracoscopic Surgery.


    The child was suffering from 'intralobar pulmonary sequestration', a malformation "often the cause of recurrent infections, bleeding or pleural effusion and, in some cases, of potential malignant degeneration", explains Francesco Macchini, director of the Niguarda Pediatric Surgery, according to which the minimally invasive technique used allows "a more rapid recovery, a reduction in hospitalization times, a clear reduction in post-operative pain, minimal consequences on the growth and development of the thorax and spinal column".


    The treatment of this case marked the beginning of this type of surgery in the pediatric block of the Niguarda, which is recognized as one of the main centers for the correction of congenital pulmonary malformations and pediatric thoracoscopy.

(HANDLE).