Dubai: The Dubai London and Speciality Clinic recently held a live laparoscopy surgery demonstration. The live demonstration of the technique of bag morcellation for fibroid removal was attended by 70 surgeons and described as the safest extraction technique by the clinic’s team of doctors.
A morcellator is a surgical instrument used for division and removal of large masses of tissues during laparoscopic surgery. In bag morcellation a special polyurethane bag is placed inside and the tumour is morecellated inside it to ensure safe and clean extraction without the spread of any morcellated tissue.
Dr Rajesh Devassy, gynaecological surgeon from the clinic, elaborated on the bag morcellation technique: “While keyhole or laparoscopy surgery for women’s health issues has been around for 50 years, the morcellation technique which is used for extraction of tumours bigger than 5cm and up to 30cm is more recent. The morcellator pulverises the tumour making its extraction easier via the keyhole. However, in 2014 this technique was banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US on the ground that it in cases where a tumour is malignant, it could spread the malignant tissue inside and raise the risk for the patient. The bag morcellation technique that was formulated later eliminates this risk.”
Dr Devassy has been practising this technique successfully for the last five years. “We place the unopened ‘endo bag’ made of polyurethane through the keyhole incision. It is opened inside, and the entire tumour and the tools are placed inside it. Then the opening of the bag is brought out and the morecellator is placed within the bag to pulverise and bring out the tissue.
This technique helps in the clean removal of the tumour, eliminating the possibility of any tissue or droplet being left behind, explained Dr Devassy, who is the first surgeon to conduct this technique in Dubai. “Everything is collected in the bag making the extraction 100 per cent safe,” he said.
The live demonstration was for the benefit of UAE and other GCC country surgeons many of who have begun practising this technique, he added.