For the first time in Europe, a minimally invasive mastectomy surgery with immediate plastic reconstruction was performed through the da Vinci SP, the next-generation robot that landed in Europe in early 2024 and was adopted first in Piedmont by the Candiolo IRCCS.

Performing the surgery last June 18 on a 51-year-old patient diagnosed with breast cancer and already undergoing chemotherapy was the breast surgery team at IRCCS Candiolo directed by Dr. Antonio Toesca.

“The surgery with the da Vinci SP was performed through a single two-and-a-half centimeter incision made under the patient’s armpit,” Dr. Toesca explains. The extreme surgical precision made it possible to preserve breast sensitivity, to preserve the areola-nipple complex and the skin and subcutaneous flap containing the superficial blood vessels as well as to minimize the surgical scar that is moreover located far from the breast.” This significantly improves the cosmetic impact and quality of life of women undergoing mastectomy, who are often psychophysically impaired by postoperative care using the classical technique.

It was precisely Dr. Toesca who performed ten years ago at Candiolo the world’s first minimally invasive robotic mastectomy surgery for the treatment of breast cancer: “This is a technique developed in Italy, the subject of scientific study in many national centers and which has seen in our Institute one of the major drivers of development. The work done in the past years now makes available to us a new ultra-modern robot, capable of innovating even more technology on this type of surgery.” In Italy today, breast cancer is the most common cancer, accounting for one-third of all malignancies and affecting one in eight women.