Internationally recognised laparoscopic surgeon, Professor Heine van der Walt, recently live-streamed two laparoscopic revisional anti-reflux surgeries at the 35th Global Digestive System Congress in Rome, Italy.
The complex procedures were performed from a specially equipped theatre at Netcare Unitas Hospital in Centurion, Pretoria, as an educational demonstration for the Congress.
The Congress is one of the largest surgical congresses in the world for medical professionals.
Van der Walt live-streamed the surgeries in front of 3000 guests at the Auditorium del Massimo in Rome, while thousands of other delegates participated remotely.
Van der Walt was the only African representative selected to demonstrate his highly rated surgical skills out of 150 live educational procedures.
The renowned surgeon explained that the live procedures were for patients who required revisional anti-reflux interventions to correct previous failed surgeries.
“These can be extremely complicated cases, and the surgeon must be prepared for a range of possible scenarios.
“These live transmission cases allow us to demonstrate both novel and standard techniques, and keep abreast of any significant updates,” said Van der Walt.
He noted that spaces such as the Congress offered medical professionals opportunities to exchange a plethora of knowledge and expert information in the medical field.
“It is always an honour to be invited to participate in these conferences that bring together the medical community to exchange knowledge and develop skills relevant to related disciplines.
“Every opportunity to share knowledge and skills that can better equip surgeons for such procedures is therefore invaluable, particularly since the oesophagus is one of the most sensitive organs in the body,” said Van der Walt.
He highlighted how advanced technology has transformed the medical field.
“I used to have to travel to Europe in person for these educational cases. However, with how far technology has come, I can now perform the surgeries from here, and the transmission clarity is excellent.”
Van der Walt and his team went through years of research to develop technology that would enable live-streaming procedures globally.
“We went through so many telecommunications techniques, from a mobile satellite dish on the roof of the hospital to eventually having the breakthrough of 5G to transmit the live-stream, which, in fact, worked rather well.
“Now we have got even more advanced by using the hospital’s fibre connection, and with the assistance of a technical link up team, we can establish a clear real-time two-way link with the conference venue.
“It has become relatively simple to share the experience of live educational procedures with hundreds of thousands of surgeons all over the world,” said Van der Walt.
Netcare Unitas Hospital manager, Pieter Louw, hailed the professor’s punditry surgical skills.
“Prof Van der Walt is well known for his generosity in sharing his knowledge with colleagues both at home and abroad, which extends the benefit of his expertise to countless patients worldwide.
“We thank Prof Van der Walt for his dedication to cultivating surgical skills in this highly specialised field, and for continually remaining at the cutting edge of his discipline internationally,” said Louw.
The Star