After the successful application of EFTR (Endoscopic Full-Thickness Resection) technology in the area of the large intestine, the doctors of the Internal Medicine Clinic of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the University of Warsaw and the FN Motol were the first in the Czech Republic to use this method also to remove an early tumor in the area of the stomach.
The young 39-year-old patient has been treated for type 1 diabetes since the age of eight, with a number of subsequent complications that this disease brings (the most serious of which are visual impairment with blindness and irreversible kidney failure with the need for dialysis).
As part of the preparation before the planned dialysis, the patient was diagnosed with anemia, which was subsequently examined. Among others, a stomach examination was performed using gastroscopy, during which doctors discovered two closely adjacent polyposis formations in the stomach. Subsequent histological analysis of these formations confirmed that it is a neuroendocrine tumor (a rarer type of cancer). After consulting an oncologist, examinations were performed to rule out whether the tumor had spread to other parts of the body. Fortunately, the examinations carried out did not show any expansion.
Due to the fact that the patient's neuroendocrine tumor did not spread beyond the stomach area, and also considering its size, the doctors of the FNM Internal Clinic decided to use EFTR technology. The method is widely used at the Internal Medicine Clinic in routine practice for interventions in the area of the large intestine, but a modification for procedures in the area of the stomach and duodenum is now also available. In this method, the pathological entity is endoscopically removed together with the wall of the organ in its entire width, and at the same time, before this removal, this place is secured with a special clip (clamp) to prevent perforation of the wall of the organ. Thanks to the EFTR technique, the patient is spared an operation with the "opening" of the abdominal cavity, and the length of hospitalization is reduced to only 24-48 hours. A similar procedure on the stomach using the EFTR technique has not yet been published in the Czech Republic.
"Everything happened very quickly, they put me to sleep, I was in the operating room for about 20 minutes and then I woke up and it was over. Everyone here, whether it's doctors, nurses, paramedics, they all behave nicely and try to help me, and I'm extremely grateful for that, and I thank everyone very much." says the young patient.
"Thanks to this unique operation using the EFTR technique, we managed to successfully remove the tumor in the stomach without the need for surgery. The samples have been sent for histology and the next course of action will be determined based on them. Most patients with neuroendocrine tumors have a good prognosis for survival, which I firmly believe will be the fate of our patient,'' adds prof. MD Radan Keil Ph.D., head of the Internal Medicine Clinic of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the UK and the Motol Faculty of Medicine, who performed the procedure.
Press Release: Removal of an early stomach tumor without the need for surgery