Sunday, June 26, 2011

Surgeries in Sofia, Bulgaria

This weekend I went as usual every month to Sofia, Bulgaria. We operated at the Hill Clinic  many patients with big sized prostates, or "bulgarian prostates" as we use to joke.

The GreenLEP technique is mature now, and we can operate these prostates with safety, removing the whole adenoma. We separate it from the prostatic capsule and push it to the bladder, and we extract it with a special device that allows fragmentation of the adenoma and extraction of the tissue through the uretha, without having to make any incission. I have a great time in Bulgaria, we have this intense surgical sessions, patient after patient, that I enjoy so much. Five surgeries in one day with prostates ove 100 grams is quite a working session.

This sunday I had time to walk a round Sofia in the evening, and I realised it was the aniversary of the death of Michael Jackson, time flies so fast!!!


Thursday, June 23, 2011

Surgeries in Santander

Today I flew to Santander to help Dr. Alberto Asensio and Dr. Chema Monje to familiarise themselves with the new GreenLight XPS 180 watt laser. We did two operations in patients with relatively big prostates that were uneventful. It was a very nice and productive session.




Then I rushed to the airport with very little time and in the boarding lounge shop I saw the sold "Sobaos Pasiegos", that brought back memories from my childhood. My mother was born in Santander and lived in El Astillero, and the emotion was so intense that I could not help eating one. Upss, I have to start my diet again...




Friday, June 17, 2011

Portuguese National Association Congress

Thursday night I left Madrid to Oporto, and from there I was taken to Esposende, a turistic area where the Annual Congress of the APU (Portuguese Urological Association) was being celebrated.



My contribution was to participate in a symposium on GreenLight Laser for the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. The only free moment was early in the morning. I had a chance to walk in this wonderful beach. Then I returned to Madrid. I had to operate on Friday afternoon.




Saturday, June 11, 2011

Live surgery in Paris, France

This time I was invited to participate in the congress "Challenges in Endourology", that took place in Paris.

My role here was to perform a live surgical intervention that would be transmitted live to 400 urologists from all over the world. Also I participated in a video session where I had to present a video, right after surgery.


First I demonstrated the GreenLEP technique, the GreenLight Enucleation of the Prostate in a patient with a prostate weighing 100 grams. The operation was uneventful and there was no special incident. I could complete enucleation and morcellation and extraction of the adenomatous tissue in under 70 minutes. I received many questions from the floor and I was answering them while I was operating. In the photo, with Prof. Alexander Bachmann by my side.



Then I rushed to the hotel where the congress was being celebrated. I presented a video also on GreenLight Enucleation and I answered the questions they did to me. Attendees were very impressed with a prostatic enucleation with the GreenLight XPS 180 watt laser, with the absence of bleeding, with the fact that I enucleated the adenoma in one piece, with a side-firing fiber... they did not imagine this was possible.


Then I came to Madrid, happy after the meeting in Paris. During the last eight years I have lived dedicated to this, with a lot of sacrifice and a lot of passion for prostatic surgery. Devoted in body and soul to improve my technique to be able to offer it to my patients, and to be able to teach it to my colleagues so they can offer it to their patients... I felt the whole effort was worth it.




Sunday, June 05, 2011

First GreenLight Surgeries in Belgrade, Serbia

This is the first time I visited Serbia. I was invited to inaugurate the first GreenLight XPS laser in this country.

First I gave a talk at the prestigious Urology Clinic at Belgrade, maybe one of the biggest urological centers in Europe (if we do not count Rusia), if my memory is correct, with 120 urology beds.





Then I went to the surgical theatre to perform three surgical operations, two vaporizations and one enucleation in one patient with a huge prostate.

The following day we woke up early to go to the Serbian National television where we participated in an interview on this new method to operate patients with symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.


Then I did other four operations, three vaporizations and another enucleation of a huge prostate.

I really liked serbian urologists, great surgeons in a not so privileged environment, with hunger for new technologies and an impresive thirst for learning.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Roadshow in Portugal

This week I travelled to Portugal, with the intention of carrying out workshops in three hospitals. One was in Figueira da Foz, another one in Braga and finally in Oporto. For different reasons we could not operate int he first two, and we only managed to operate in the third, Hospital San Joao in Porto.


There I performed three surgical operations on patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), with the GreenLight XPS 180 watt laser. I did two vaporizations and one enucleation. The local urologists were amazed. They want to come to visit in Madrid to see if they can learn the procedure. Some days later they told me patients were all OK.


We went all for lunch a wonderful beef steak and then I rushed to the airport. I had to travel to Serbia to help launch this new laser in this country.