Moraga mom is first in U.S. to undergo breakthrough robotic breast cancer surgery
Moraga mom is first in U.S. to undergo breakthrough breast cancer surgery
Doctors in the East Bay are celebrating a milestone breakthrough in cancer treatment after a breast cancer surgeon successfully removed an aggressive tumor from a patient using a robot. Moraga resident Vicky Pan, 46, is the first person in the United States to have received the surgery.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Doctors in the East Bay are celebrating a milestone breakthrough in cancer treatment after a breast cancer surgeon successfully removed an aggressive tumor from a patient using a robot. It is the first procedure of its kind here in the United States.
Last summer, Vicky Pan, an otherwise healthy 46-year-old mother of two boys from Moraga, went to the doctor worried about a lump in her right breast, only to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.
"That initial two weeks was very scary," Pan said.
Local perspective:
Pan's doctor, Rita Kwan-Feinburg at Sutter’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, recommended a procedure never performed outside clinical trials in the U.S.: a robotic single port nipple sparing mastectomy. The procedure would remove the cancer with a small incision while preserving her breasts and sensation, using a robot.
"Through that small little incision, we’re able to put forth a camera and do very precise surgery with small little instruments that mirror the movements of the surgeon's hands," Dr. Kwan-Feinburg said.
She added that the nimble instruments are controlled by the surgeon seated at what they call the console, where foot pedals and finger controls operate the robotic platform.
Pan said that after her hair fell out and her body was worn down by chemotherapy, she thought it would put an end to a series of losses caused by cancer.
"Anything that can help minimize the loss, anything that can help me retain some form of identity, I think is like a type of mercy," Pan said.
Big picture view:
Despite never having performed the surgery on a person, Dr. Kwan-Feinburg was well-informed. "I’ve been following this internationally for several years," she said. "Is there a way to marry robotics and breast surgery?"
To prepare, Dr. Kwan-Feinburg spent months in rigorous training, traveling to Abu Dhabi to work with robotics specialists from all over the world and practicing in the operating room with her surgical team before the real thing.
On March 9, Dr. Kwan-Feinburg successfully removed all the cancer.
Typically, a mastectomy—the removal of the breast—can leave a lot of scarring, cause loss of sensation, and lead to a painful recovery. Pan, however, was going on a beach vacation just three weeks after her surgery.
"Being able to do this through a small hidden scar means that women physically and emotionally can return back to what matters, which is living life to the fullest and not being constantly reminded of the journey they had to go through," Dr. Kwan-Feinburg said.
Dig deeper:
The funds for the single-port robotic system were donated in January by philanthropist and businessman Peter Read, whose wife died of breast cancer and has since dedicated himself to supporting breast cancer research at Sutter Health.
Since Pan’s surgery in March, Dr. Kwan-Feinburg has performed 16 more just like it on 10 patients. She has three more scheduled in the next couple of weeks, completing the most in the U.S. with no complications.
Now, Pan is in remission, taking preventative chemotherapy and immunotherapy before one more reconstructive surgery, but she has her life back.
"I appreciate everything now, from the coffee in the morning to the sunset," Pan said. "I give my sons longer hugs."
The Source: Sutter Health, KTVU interviews and reporting