Prof. Dr. Volkan Tuğcu entered the medical literature with the method he developed.
CNN TURK NEWS
Professor of Urology Dr. Volkan Tuğcu entered the medical literature with the “Tuğcu Bakırköy Technique,” a method he developed for prostate cancer surgeries. Prof. Dr. Tuğcu also taught this method through practical training to physicians visiting from the University of Bari Faculty of Medicine in Italy. Italian professors Prof. Dr. Pasquale Ditonna and Antonia Vitarelli stated that they aim to spread the technique from their university across all of Europe. Prof. Dr. Tuğcu announced that he has also received an invitation from the USA to present his method.
Explaining that with the “Tuğcu Bakırköy Technique,” they can remove the prostate and lymph nodes using robotic surgery by making a small incision between the bowel and the testicle, Dr. Volkan Tuğcu, Professor of Urology at Memorial Bahçelievler Hospital, stated that when there is no contact with the bowel, patients do not suffer from gas pain or abdominal discomfort after the surgery.
Stating that prostate issues are among the most common health problems men face, Professor Dr. Volkan Tuğcu demonstrated the method he developed to two visiting professors from Italy’s University of Bari Faculty of Medicine.
Expressing that they perform this method on prostate cancer patients, Prof. Dr. Volkan Tuğcu said, “We apply a technique to prostate cancer patients that differs from standard robotic surgery. Initially, we used to apply this technique to patients who had undergone prior surgery and could not be accessed through the abdomen. Now, however, we apply it to all prostate patients. The difference from other prostate surgeries is that we never see the abdomen or the intestines during the operation. Because we never see the intestines, we do not experience complications related to them. In standard robotic surgery, we access the prostate through the abdominal cavity. This causes patients to experience abdominal pain after surgery. Furthermore, in standard surgery, port-site incisions carry a risk of intraoperative and postoperative bleeding. With our Tuğcu technique, we do not encounter these issues. Patients operated on using our method are discharged earlier compared to standard robotic surgery.”
Explaining that they can also reach the lymph nodes during the operation in addition to treating prostate cancer, Prof. Dr. Tuğcu added, “With this method, we remove the prostate cancer along with the lymph nodes. We are the only ones in the world doing this. That is precisely why my name entered the world literature as the ‘Tuğcu Bakırköy Technique.’ These Italian professors, faculty members from the Bari Faculty of Medicine, came to Turkey specifically to learn this technique. After other operations, patients faced an early-stage risk of urinary incontinence. However, with our method, patients begin to maintain urinary control at an earlier stage. Compared to other robotic surgeries, our results are significantly better. We have completed 110 cases to date. We are happy to have brought such a technique to the world.”
Prof. Dr. Tuğcu also revealed that he received an offer from the United States to teach the technique.
Italian professor Prof. Dr. Pasquale Ditonna, who shared that he learned of the technique from Tuğcu’s presentation at a urology congress in San Francisco, said, “I thought Prof. Tuğcu’s technique was exceptionally innovative and was deeply impressed, which is why I met with him to implement this technique in my own hospital. Overall, I think this new technique is very successful. I will invite Prof. Dr. Tuğcu to my university to perform several operations. If everything goes well, we will spread this new technique throughout Europe.”