Two Baptist Health Institutes Mark a Surgical First for Treating Inoperable Liver Cancer

Miami Cancer Institute and Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, both part of Baptist Health, are the first in the United States to successfully treat a patient with liver tumors using the Epione® robotic surgery technology to perform a CAT scan-guided microwave ablation.

The procedure was performed under the guidance and care of Govindarajan Narayanan, M.D., chief of interventional oncology at Miami Cancer Institute and a vascular interventional radiologist with Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

The Epione® robot, developed by Quantum Surgical, allows physicians to treat inoperable tumors precisely, at an early stage, in locations that are difficult to reach due to their size or their location. The technology is designed to target and perform percutaneous tumor ablations, a minimally invasive procedure in which one or more needles are inserted using imaging guidance through the skin and into the tumor, where they are then able to destroy it.

Miami Cancer Institute and Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute offer patients access to new technologies years before other regional hospitals, Dr. Narayanan notes. A team of multidisciplinary physicians representing the complete spectrum of cardiovascular and oncologic care is dedicated to providing families with the best treatment.

Liver cancer afflicts more than 800,000 people throughout the world each year and causes 700,000 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). In the U.S. alone, the ACS says, roughly 41,210 new cases (27,980 in men and 13,230 in women) will be diagnosed, and about 29,380 people (19,000 men and 10,380 women) will die of liver cancers.

“Dr. Narayanan is paving the way for other doctors who will be able to offer this innovative care to patients who may need this new technology in treatments to improve their lives,” says Quantum Surgical president and co-founder Bertin Nahum. “We look forward to treating many more people who can benefit from this less invasive robotic technology.”

Noting that Baptist Health has always been at the forefront when it comes to providing the very best care to the South Florida community and beyond, Dr. Narayanan says he is proud to be a part of such an incredible team and honored to be the first physician in the U.S. to use Epione®. “This robotic-assisted technology is going to change the way we deliver effective treatments to our patients for cancerous tumors,” he states.