Surgical session at Hill Clinic with visitors from France and the UK

This weekend I operated at Hill Clinic in Sofia, Bulgaria and we received the visit of Dr. Bertrand Lukacs, from Hospital Tenon in Paris and Dr. Andy Thomas, from ABM university NHS trust in Wales, United Kingdom. They were very interested in learning the Green Laser En Bloc Enucleation of the prostate technique.

We shared two days of surgical procedures and I was able to share all the details of this technique. They both returned happy and impressed by the quality of the team work we carry out at Hill Clinic in Sofia.

Visitors to our surgical room at Clinica CEMTRO

Again we received the visit of various urologists to our surgical room at Clinica CEMTRO, to witness the new techniques to operate benign prostate hyperplasia with the GreenLight laser.

This time we received the visit of Dr. Serafín Novas, from the Hospital de Santiago de Compostela, Dr. Antonio Jalón, from the Hospital Central de Asturias, Dr. Ana Soto, from the Hospital de Castellón and Dr. Cambronero, from the Hospital Infanta Leonor in Madrid.

Realizamos cuatro intervenciones que transcurrieron fenomenal. Siempre pedimos a los visitantes que firmen en nuestro libro de visitas.

Proctoring session at Linz Hospital in Austria

This time I went to Linz in Austria to help Dr. Sommerhuber with his first steps with the GreenLight En bloc Enucleation of the prostate technique.

Linz is a small Austrian city with a beautiful cathedral. 

We went to the Hospital in Linz, they had programmed five patients in two days. The hospital has a very active urology department, that participates in many international research projects. The first day I performed the first operation in a patient with a huge prostate gland, then Dr. Sommerhuber did the rest of the operations with my hall. It all went well and he had no major difficulty with the learning process. I believe this technique can be taught and learned by surgeons without major difficulties.

Dr. Luebke, from Germany, joined us during the session. He had already been visiting us in one of the training sessions in Sofia, Bulgaria. He also wants to learn the technique and he felt that it was a great experience to witness the difficulties Dr. Sommerhuber faced and he thought it was a very good experience that would help him with his own learning process.

Invitation to proctor at Massachusets General Hospital, Hardvard University, Boston, USA.

This time I had to travel far, to Boston, where there was a winter storm with terribly low temperatures, to help Dr. Shahin Tabatabaei, associate professor at MGH - Harvard University, to polish his technique of GreenLight En bloc enucleation of the prostate. He already came to visit me in Bulgaria and saw many cases and had initiated the technique on his own, but wanted to improve and learn some tips and tricks.

We spent the first day at the operating room, we did two very difficult cases of patients with large glands that took their time. The rest of the surgeries were cancelled because the city was blocked by the snow.

Both cases went very well and Dr. Tabatabaei was able to extract a huge adenoma from one of the patients.

The second day I participated in a training session for residents and urologists of the hospital with Dr. Tabatabaei.

We first gave two short talks on the principles of laser surgery and then we worked with the residents with the surgical simulators and studied the surgical instruments necessary for this technique.

The following day I gave a talk at the department Grand Rounds session to present the En Bloc Green Laser Enucleation technique. It was very interesting and we had the honor of receiving the visit of Lori Lerner, famous for her dedication to Holmium laser enucleation, who added her experience to a very intense and interesting discussion. The urologists from MGH thought this is a very interesting new avenue for the treatment of BPH and Dr. Tabatabaei is going to continue to perform it and I hope we can participate together in a multi center international study that is going to start soon.

The last day of my stay in Boston we went back to the operating room for another surgical session, that also went very well. Dr. Tabatabaei chose very complex cases and we spent the day operating.

I got this diploma as a reminder of my stay in Boston. It has been a great honor for me to share with my colleagues in Boston and to collaborate once again with my friend. Dr. Tabatabaei.

Finally I returned to Madrid, despite the weather getting worse, I managed to take off just in time to celebrate my birthday (I am now 47!).

The following day they cancelled 1800 flights in the northeast of USA, due to the intense cold.

Surgical session at Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou in Paris, France

This time I went to this impressive hospital in Paris, to demonstrate Prof. Arnaud Mejean the new techniques of anatomic vaporization and En Bloc Enucleation of the prostate with the GreenLight laser for the treatment of BPH.

I performed three operations during the morning that went very well. Dr. Mejean showed me the department of urology, really impressive.

We had the chance to discuss the role of the GreenLight laser in the treatment of BPH and I insisted in the importance of proper training to obtain optimal results. He was very impressed with the operations, we could operate a patient with a prostate over 100 g in less than one hour.

Surgical mentorship in Modena, Italy

Again I travelled to Modena to operate with Dr. Ferrari patients with BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia). I reached the Ospedale Hesperia by car from Bologna, it was very cold and snowed all day long.

This time I helped him with his cases of GreenLEP (En bloc Greenlight laser enucleation of the prostate). I could ascertain one more time how this technique can be taught and learnt. Dr. Ferrari performed two cases wonderfully and independently. He is a great surgeon.

From Modena I travelled to Paris that night, to participate the following day in another surgical session.