Surgery performed at Pequeno Príncipe avoids amputation in children with bone tumors
Bone tumors account for about 3% of all childhood cancers and are most common from ages 5 to 25. It is often necessary to amputate the affected limb to eliminate cancer cells. Therefore, in addition to facing the cancer itself, one of the great challenges of this treatment is to preserve the limbs affected by cancer, as amputation interferes with the physical and emotional development of children and adolescents.
At Pequeno Príncipe Hospital, since 2020, the physician Juliane Comunello, an orthopedist specializing in cancer surgery, has been using a surgical technique developed in Japan that treats cancer and prevents amputations. During the surgery, the part of the bone on which the tumor is located is removed. This part is then immersed in liquid nitrogen at -320°F and frozen. It is this freezing that “kills” cancer cells. The cancer-free part of the bone is then reimplanted into the patient. The 12 years old Sophia Grevinski (photo above) is one of the patients who was benefited from this technique.
This is the subject of the Pequeno Príncipe News third edition’s main article, that shows more details about this innovative surgery that provides more health and quality of life for the patients. The newsletter also has an exciting news story made by Rede Globo TV network in Paraná about an incredible night: patients from Pequeno Príncipe was taken by Coldplay British band to a concert in Curitiba. Click here to watch the video.
At last, the Pequeno Príncipe News highlights that the Pequeno Príncipe College received the maximum score – 5 – in the re-accreditation evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Education (MEC, abbreviation in Portuguese) and by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP, also in Portuguese) at the end of March. The institution’s pedagogical, administrative and infrastructure dimensions were assessed. “We work willingly and professionally so that our mission of producing and disseminating knowledge is fulfilled, reaffirming our commitment to competent, humanized and socially responsible training,” pointed out the director-general of the College, Professor Patricia Forte Rauli, PhD, when she commented about this important achievement.