Following a donation of over €50,000 from the Emer Casey Foundation, St. James’s Hospital have purchased and put into operation a key piece of surgical equipment. Pictured here are a very happy surgical team using the sentinel node mapping laparoscope on the first case. The specialised laparascope allows the surgeons to be more selective in the removal of lymph nodes (through which cancer spreads) from the pelvis.
Speaking on World Ovarian Cancer Day, earlier in the year, when the Foundation’s donation was announced, Dr. Noreen Gleeson, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist at St. James’s Hospital, explained –
“the current standard of surgery, removing all lymph nodes inside the pelvis, interferes with the flow of fluid in the lymph circulation from the legs and genitalia. As a result, some women develop very debilitating health problems, like swelling of their legs or genitalia (lymphoedema) or recurring infection and even sepsis. With newer technology, we, as surgeons, are better able to target the ‘correct’ nodes – those most likely to harbour the cancer cells. This results in women healing faster, spending less time in hospital and being less likely to develop long-term disability.”
The Foundation is delighted to have contributed to the purchase of this equipment in such a significant way and knows it will benefit the hundreds of women who attend the clinic each year. St. James’s is the largest provider in the Republic of Ireland of treatment for malignancy of the reproductive organs, including ovarian cancer.
Photo credit: St. James’s Hospital