Salerno, two robotic pediatric surgery interventions at Ruggi

A significant step forward in pediatric medicine has been made at the San Giovanni di Dio and Ruggi d'Aragona University Hospital in Salerno. Thanks to the team led by Dr. Umberto Ferrentino, head of Pediatric Surgery at Ruggi, the first pediatric robotic surgery procedures were performed at the facility.

"It was a difficult finish, on a tortuous road," said Dr. Ferrentino. "A long training program has led us to this extraordinary result, made possible by the synergy and cooperation between specialist doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers. Every stage of the process has benefited from the necessary assistance, always supported by Ruggi's Strategic Management, which has focused on raising safety and quality standards, perfecting the pediatric surgeon's performance through the use of robotics."

These first interventions mark a long-standing collaboration between the Pediatric Surgery Department of Roar and Professor Ciro Esposito, director of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Naples Federico II, Regional Reference Center for Pediatric Robotic Surgery. Among the procedures performed, one in particular corrected a rare urinary tract malformation.

The young patient, a 14-year-old boy, presented with an obstruction of the major calyces of the right kidney, which were extrarenal and compressed by the renal vein, compromising the normal flow of urine. "Robotic technology has allowed us to reach places that would otherwise have been impossible to reach," explained Dr. Ferrentino. "Better manipulation of the structures during the surgical procedure allowed us to isolate the obstructed calyces and suspend the vessel, thus allowing urine to resume its normal path to the bladder, without added risk to the child."