Professor Paolo Miccoli: robotic surgery will become more and more popular

Prof. Paolo Miccoli is the inventor of thyroidectomy surgery minimally invasive video-assisted surgery, which turns out to be the most frequently used endoscopic surgery in the world, and Head of the Regional Centre of reference for the surgical treatment of thyroid diseases, as well as Centre of Excellence. Gland Surgery (GS) is honored to have the chance to interview Prof. Miccoli (Figure 1) during the 15th World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery (WCES 2016) in conjunction with Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA 2016) and 15th Chinese National Congress of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery (CSLES 2016).

Figure 1 Professor Paolo Miccoli.

In the interview, Prof. Miccoli compared the advantages and disadvantages between minimally invasive video-assisted thyroid surgery and traditional technology. Also he shared with us the most challenging part during the operation he has performed the first robotic total thyroidectomy through a single access point in the armpit in Pisa. For more detail of this interview, readers can refer to the following video (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Paolo Miccoli: robotic surgery will become more and more popular (1). Available online: http://www.asvide.com/articles/1287

Interview questions

• As the inventor of minimally invasive video-assisted thyroid surgery, Could you introduce its advantages and disadvantages, compared to the traditional technology?
• You have performed the first robotic total thyroidectomy through a single access point in the armpit in Pisa. What is the most challenging part during the operation? How to handle it?
• In your opinion, what is the future of robotic surgery for thyroid diseases?
• What drives you into the field of thyroid surgery?
• As one of the editorial board of the journal Gland Surgery, what would be your suggestions to increase the availability of GS articles and increase the citation of the articles?

Expert introduction

Paolo Miccoli, Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. Inventor of thyroidectomy surgery—minimally invasive video-assisted surgery, which turns out to be the most frequently used endoscopic surgery in the world, and Head of the Regional Centre of reference for the surgical treatment of thyroid diseases, as well as Centre of Excellence. Winner of Ruggeri—the highest award given by the Italian Society of Surgery for the line of research on minimally invasive parathyroid surgery.

Acknowledgements

None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

1. Yan CM. Paolo Miccoli: robotic surgery will become more and more popular. Asvide 2016;3:512. Available online: http://www.asvide.com/articles/1287

(Science Editor: Crystal M. Yan, GS, editor@glandsurgery.org)