Yerevan Microsurgical Week: Reconstructive Microsurgery at the NCO
From October 11 to 16, the V. A. Fanarjyan National Center of Oncology (NCO) hosted Yerevan Microsurgical Week, an international microsurgical initiative featuring complex reconstructive surgeries, specialist consultations, and professional knowledge exchange with leading international experts.
The Center welcomed a team of microsurgical specialists from Spain and Mexico as part of the educational and humanitarian mission of WSRM/RMES. The week-long program aimed to advance reconstructive and microsurgery in Armenia, facilitate the exchange of international expertise, and expand treatment and rehabilitation opportunities for patients.
During the initiative, the international team collaborated with NCO surgical oncologists to perform complex surgical procedures, discuss clinical cases, and assess the potential application of modern reconstructive surgical techniques.
Yerevan Microsurgical Week brought together several distinguished specialists in plastic, reconstructive, and microsurgery:
-
Gemma Pons — Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Clínica Planas, Barcelona, Spain.
-
Eric Santamaría, MD — Professor of Reconstructive Microsurgery at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and surgeon at leading hospitals in Mexico.
-
Koenraad Van Landuyt — Head of the Plastic Surgery Department, Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, Spain.
-
María José Lasso — Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon and Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and its affiliated university hospital.
Through the collaboration between the international specialists and the NCO surgical team, several complex surgical procedures were performed, alongside specialist consultations.
Five complex breast reconstruction procedures were performed using unilateral and bilateral DIEP flap techniques. This approach enables breast reconstruction using the patient’s own tissue, allowing for an individualized reconstruction plan.
Three major microsurgical procedures were carried out to reconstruct extensive tissue defects. Such interventions require a high level of surgical expertise, meticulous planning, and close collaboration among members of the surgical team.
The international specialists also provided more than 20 consultations, evaluating complex clinical cases, discussing treatment strategies, and planning subsequent reconstructive procedures.
Yerevan Microsurgical Week was significant not only for the surgical procedures performed but also for strengthening professional collaboration. The exchange of international expertise enabled NCO specialists to discuss modern microsurgical techniques, the specific considerations involved in planning complex reconstructive procedures, and opportunities for implementing these approaches in Armenia.
Reconstructive surgery plays an important role in patients’ functional recovery following cancer treatment, restoring appearance, and improving quality of life. In particularly complex cases, microsurgical techniques make it possible to reconstruct tissue defects using the patient’s own tissue.
The V. A. Fanarjyan National Center of Oncology values collaboration with international partners as an essential means of continuously advancing reconstructive surgery and microsurgery, expanding treatment options for patients, and improving their quality of life.
Yerevan Microsurgical Week marked another important step toward advancing modern reconstructive surgery in Armenia and strengthening international professional collaboration.
