Interdisciplinary

Tele-manipulated surgical system – the renaissance of abdominal surgery

The NESA has joined SOFAR in Milan as a scientific consultant concerning a new "robotics" tele-manipulated surgical system, the so-called ALF-X. The advantages of this system are tactile sensing, safety, easy use, a high degree of versatility for endoscopic procedures and cost-effectiveness. The NESA has created an International Scientific Committee which will accompany the preclinical studies which have already been started as well as the clinical studies to come.

Researchers from SOFAR and the NESA are developing a new type of surgeon cockpit which will make the usage of the system as similar as possible to open surgery with the advantages of endoscopy, hence the use of the term "renaissance of abdominal surgery".

Life Science Medical University (LSMU)

The NESA is starting its 6^th year of existence with a new challenge, the establishment of a new medical university based on centres of competence, the Life Science Medical University. Delegates from 12 countries were present at the First Academic Board Planning Meeting, which took place in Berlin on November 20. More and more institutions are informing us about their interest to join the project.

Download the Concept of the Life Science Medical University.

Certification

In accordance with the aim to introduce unified, evidence-based surgical methods, in 2007 the NESA started to certify hospitals that perform surgical methods promoted by the academy, such as the Misgav Ladach caesarean section and the Ten-Step Vaginal Hysterectomy (TSVH).

The following departments and hospitals have been certified by the NESA:

Gynaecolocigal Department of the University Hospital Perugia, Italy (Misgav Ladach, TSVH)
Gynaecolocigal Department of the Çukurova University Hospital, Adana, Turkey (Misgav Ladach, TSVH)
Gynaecolocigal Department of the General Hospital of Pula, Croatia (Misgav Ladach)
Maternity and Gynaecological Surgical Hospital, Ahmadabad, India (Misgav Ladach)
V. S. Public Hospital, Ahmadabad, India (Misgav Ladach)

Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS) / Scarless Operations Working Group (SLO)

The NESA founded the first European-based, interdisciplinary working group on NOS / SLO. Its goal is to develop surgical procedures using the natural body openings as well as "scarless" operations, and to promote alternatives to the "traditional" abdominal and endoscopical operations. The working group elaborates study protocols, conducts pre-clinical and clinical studies, explores specific physiological and surgical aspects and develops adapted instruments.

Endoscopical procedures have replaced laparotomy in many cases. The NESA believes that the natural orifice pathway might equally replace many laparoscopic operations. This is due to the relatively low risk in introducing the instruments and to the assumedly lower intra-abdominal pressure required. Transaxillar and transmamillar procedures are also optimized.

The participants are surgeons from various surgical disciplines as well as pharmacologists, physiologists and representatives of the industry.

The first meeting of the working group took place on June 23, 2006, the second on March 28, 2007 in Berlin.

The NOS working group is developing a new surgical device, the TED (Transdouglas Endoscopic Device). The TED is a multichannel, articulated, rigid endoscope that facilitates surgical procedures in the upper abdomen (cholecystectomy, liver biopsy, splenectomy etc.) as well as in the pelvis (hysterectomy, cystectomy, etc.) by using a single entry.

View TED simulation

Protocol of the 1st meeting (incl. list of participants)

Photos of the 1st meeting

Protocol of the 2nd meeting (incl. list of participants)

Introduction to the NOS / SLO concept (M. Stark)

Axillary-Bilateral-Breast-Approach (ABBA) (T. Benhidjeb)

Transumbilical herniorrhaphy (K. Witzel)

The transoral access in endoscopic thyroid resection (K. Witzel)