Gynecologic oncologist sees benefits in fight against cervical and endometrial cancers
New surgical technology at Munson Medical Center “lights up” potentially cancerous lymph nodes in real time and shortens the amount of time on an operating table for gynecologic cancer patients.
Gynecologic oncologist David Michelin, M.D., M.P.H., said the hospital’s new da Vinci® Xi Surgical System and accompanying Firefly technology is helping save lives of patients diagnosed with cervical and endometrial cancers.
The Firefly technology builds on the da Vinci’s use of minimally invasive surgery and magnified 3D high definition vision within a patient’s body by adding an integrated florescence imaging component. Patients receive an injection of a fluorescent green dye that allows a surgeon to see which lymph nodes are draining a specific organ. Previously to determine if a cancer has spread out of the organ, the surgeon would take as many as 30 lymph nodes from a patient. Firefly cuts that number down to three.
“After the dye is injected, we put the da Vinci camera into the near infrared spectrum and everything in the background is black while the sentinel lymph nodes are bright green,” Dr. Michelin said. “My second patient using this technology had two lymph nodes near the aorta. One was green, another was not. Without the Firefly, I would not have removed them. But I took them both. Lab tests showed the green node was cancerous, the other was not.”
Because the Firefly system identified the node, the spread of cancer was confirmed and the patient went into further treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
“Firefly potentially will save the woman’s life,” Dr. Michelin said. “We are really doing a better job of diagnosing metastatic disease.”
The removing of “sentinel lymph nodes” has become best practice for gynecologic cancers just as with other types of cancer. Dr. Michelin said just taking three nodes cuts down significantly on the amount of time a patient is in the operating room and on anesthesia.
“It also significantly lessens the risks for lymphedema, because we are just removing a few nodes,” he said.
About 150 patients a year are treated for endometrial and cervical cancer at Munson Medical Center. The hospital is the only one in northern Michigan with the Firefly technology.
Learn more about Munson Healthcare Cancer Services.