Investigator
Memorial University Of Newfoundland
Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma metastasizes to lung pleura
Indocyanine green fluorescence angiography for bowel anastomosis assessment in ovarian cancer surgery
Optimizing bowel anastomotic integrity is a key consideration in ovarian cancer cytoreductive surgery, as anastomotic complications can significantly impact postoperative recovery and delay systemic treatment. Conventional assessment techniques like visual inspection and palpation are inherently subjective and may not consistently predict the likelihood of anastomotic leakage. Due to the serious consequences of anastomotic failure and the impact of diverting ostomies, there is growing interest in fluorescence-based technologies to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of anastomoses and support more informed intraoperative decision-making. Indocyanine green fluorescence angiography (ICG-FA) has emerged as a promising tool for improving the accuracy of bowel perfusion at the time of surgery. While widely adopted in general surgery, its use in gynecologic oncology is still growing and has not yet been established as the standard of care. By allowing surgeons to assess perfusion intraoperatively, ICG-FA may help reduce anastomotic leaks and decrease the need for diverting ostomies, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and quality of life. While early evidence indicates that ICG-FA is a safe and feasible tool in ovarian cancer surgery, additional research is required to develop standardized protocols and evaluate its clinical significance and long-term benefits. This review provides a technical overview, examines the current evidence surrounding ICG-FA in gynecologic oncology, explores its potential advantages and limitations, and highlights future directions for research in fluorescence-guided bowel anastomosis assessment.
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in gynecologic surgery: hot topic debates at the 2025 ERAS World Congress
The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery pathway has transformed peri-operative care in gynecologic surgery through multi-disciplinary, evidence-based protocols. However, real-world adherence to and interpretation of specific Enhanced Recovery After Surgery elements remain heterogeneous, with ongoing discussion about their feasibility and clinical relevance. During the 2025 Enhanced Recovery After Surgery World Congress in Turin, Italy, a rapid-fire debate session addressed 4 "hot topics" in gynecologic Enhanced Recovery After Surgery implementation. Peri-operative dysglycemia is associated with worse surgical outcomes, although the evidence favors a targeted rather than universal screening strategy. Universal hemoglobin A1c testing was considered impractical, with screening recommended for patients with diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease to balance safety and oncologic timeliness. Although transversus abdominis plane blocks reduce opioid use and prolong analgesia, multi-layer wound infiltration remains a pragmatic and cost-effective alternative, especially in low-resource settings where expertise or ultrasound guidance is limited. In light of the overall risk profile and low bleeding rates, many patients undergoing laparotomy for adnexal masses are likely to benefit from pharmacologic prophylaxis. Development of gynecology-specific risk models remains an unmet research priority. Structured multi-disciplinary warming bundles can significantly reduce peri-operative hypothermia, but implementation must remain flexible to accommodate different institutional resources and thresholds. The 2025 Enhanced Recovery After Surgery World Congress debates reinforced that the evolution of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery in gynecologic surgery depends less on discovering new interventions than on refining, validating, and implementing existing evidence. Individualized standardization-adapting Enhanced Recovery After Surgery principles to patient and resource variability-remains the cornerstone of enhanced recovery progress.
