Willemstad, January 19, 2024 – Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) proudly announces its groundbreaking achievement as the first hospital in the entire Caribbean region to offer keyhole spinal hernia surgery. This remarkable medical milestone highlights CMC’s commitment to providing advanced and minimally invasive surgical options to its patients.
The procedure was successfully performed on January 16, 2024 under the skilled hands of Dr. Dos Santos Rubio in collaboration with Dr. Harhangi together with the ‘Park Medisch Centrum’ Rotterdam and CMC surgery team. Dr. Harhangi has an exceptional track record in the field of hernia surgeries in the Netherlands, and his expertise has been instrumental in bringing this state-of-the-art procedure to Curaçao.
Spinal minimal invasive surgery for hernia, also known as Percutaneous Transforaminal Endoscopic Discectomy (PTED), is a cutting-edge technique that offers significant benefits over traditional open surgeries. A small incision is made and an endoscope (thin, rigid tube with a camera) is inserted, allowing the surgeon to view the hernia and surrounding area on a monitor. Specialized surgical instruments are then used to remove the hernia from the lower spine. Hernia keyhole surgery typically lasts approximately 30 minutes.
Compared to conventional procedures, Harhangi and members of the PTED-study group showed that this surgery reduces the size of incision, minimizes scarring, and allows for faster recovery times and patients can return to the comfort of their homes on the same day. Furthermore, this innovative method results in less post-operative pain and an enhanced overall patient experience. The study was published in the British Medical Journal, one of the leading journals in the medical field.
The significance of CMC’s achievement becomes even more apparent with the fact that in the Netherlands, only five Medical Centers currently perform hernia keyhole surgery. CMC’s pioneering role in the Caribbean represents a major leap forward in the region’s medical landscape, revolutionizing the way spinal hernias are treated.
