Dr Sucandy Hosted Surgeons from Emory University, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota
As a leading surgeon in robotic hepatobiliary surgery, Dr. Sucandy often receives visiting surgeons from many different institutions both domestically and internationally to learn robotic surgery in Florida. This is an effort to educate and disseminate complex hepatobiliary surgery techniques to other colleagues around the world. Earlier this year, Dr Sucandy and his team in Florida hosted hepatobiliary surgeons from Mayo Clinic, Emory University, Federal University of Rio De Janeiro Brazil and several others.
Two experienced surgeons from Emory University Dr. Juan Sarmiento and Dr. Kevin Nguyen both visited Dr Sucandy to explore and observe robotic biliary duct cancer operations, so called Klatskin tumor or perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. This operation is the “Himalaya mountains” in liver and pancreas surgery. Technical difficulty level related to this resection is the highest among all. Both visiting surgeons are seasoned experts with more than 15-20 years of clinical experience in the field of liver and pancreatic cancers. Two patients with bile duct cancer at the bottom of their liver were operated on using robotic approach, followed by reconstruction of their biliary ducts using small bowels. Each operations took 8 hours with excellent postoperative outcomes. Thus far, Dr Sucandy and his team have performed more than 50 of robotic Klatskin tumor resections among 1000 liver surgeries in the past 10 years.
Dr. Jennifer Leiting is a rising star in hepatobiliary surgery working at the main Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. Dr Leiting spent 1 week with Dr Sucandy and his team in Florida to observe various robotic complex hepatobiliary resections. As widely known, Mayo Clinic is one of the largest hospital in America with more than 100 years of culture in performing major operations in various specialties. A commitment to start robotic program ignited this visit to Dr Sucandy’s team. This was a very fruitful visit with lots of discussion and potential future collaboration. About 15 years ago, during his general surgery residency Dr. Sucandy also had the opportunity to spend two weeks at the Mayo Clinic with Professor Michael Kendrik in Minnesota. Prof Kendrik had then later risen up to be the Department Chair at the Mayo Clinic. At that time Dr Sucandy received a travel grant-fellowship from the University of Michigan – Frederick Coller Society under the sponsorship of Professor John Kukora, a former President of American Endocrine Surgery Society.
Dr. Eduardo Fernandez from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is a leading hepatobiliary and transplant surgeon. Dr Fernandez is a world legend in this field with more than 15 years of experience, having learned from world pioneers such as Professor Masato Nagino, Nakao, and Masatoshi Makuuchi in Japan, as well as Professor Long in Taiwan. His father was in fact the first surgeon who performed liver transplantation in Brazil. A wide network of friendship and collegiality has brought Dr Sucandy and his team together to share their knowledge in robotic liver surgery to others and vice versa. Dr. Fernandez is one of the best surgeons in South America with strong academic and clinical achievements worldwide, applying aggressive surgical approaches to the treatment of hepatobiliary cancers.
Dr. Dario Medina from Monterrey University in Mexico visited Dr Sucandy for two weeks to learn robotic hepatobiliary surgery in Tampa. Dr Medina is a young surgeon with strong background and knowledge in hepatobiliary and liver transplantation. He is leading his unit in gaining international connections and knowledge in liver surgery, having worked in Spain and Portugal.
These visitations are very important to push the surgical technique and approach further forward. Dr Sucandy also had the opportunity to travel around the world to see how liver surgeon is performed in different countries. One of his best visit was to King Faisal Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh- Saudi Arabia with Professor Dieter Broering. King Faisal is leading the world in living donor liver transplantation and robotic donor hepatectomy, which now had been followed by fully robotic graft implantation as well. The liver transplant program in Riyadh had completed more than 1000 robotic living donor liver transplantation. Dr Sucandy said “ no ending to surgical education..” Dr Sucandy and his team of surgeons in Florida had also completed more than 1000 robotic liver and pancreatic resections since 2012.
