Assistant Professor of the Department of Surgery No. 1, Urology and Minimally Invasive Surgery Completed Internship at Favoriten Clinic (Vienna, Austria)

On May 13-30, 2023, Andrii Burak, Assistant Professor at L. Kovalchuk Department of Surgery № 1, Urology and Minimally Invasive Surgery, completed training at the surgical department of the “Favoriten” clinic in Vienna (Austria). The training was carried out thanks to the grant support of the “ESDO trainee fellowship” program from the European Society of Digestive Oncology.

The “Favoriten” clinic is a multidisciplinary state medical institution, which, in addition to the generally accepted departments, includes the departments of diagnostic and interventional radiology, radiation oncology, oncohematology, geriatrics and rehabilitation, and a powerful laboratory centre.

The goal of the internship was to improve and gain new practical and theoretical experience in surgical and comprehensive treatment of primary liver cancer and its metastatic lesions.

The mentor of the internship was Professor Thomas Grunberger, the head of the surgery clinic, whose main field of professional activity is oncopathology of the liver and biliary tract.

The core component of the internship was work in the operating room, where I got acquainted with the stages of resection operations on the liver using the latest technologies with the help of the DaVinci robot, as well as operations for oncology of the colon and pancreas. I had the opportunity to participate in some of them as an assistant, which adds new experience and improves practical skills.

I also had a chance to practice and improve practical skills on the DaVinci simulator.

Another important stage of the internship, which contributed to expanding knowledge and gaining experience, was participation in morning clinical discussions and conferences, the so-called “tumour boards”, which are based on a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of the patient. I got acquainted with the peculiarities of the consultation of patients with liver oncology, where Professor Grunberger eagerly shared his practical experience with a detailed examination and explanation of each clinical case.

On the recommendation of Professor Thomas Grunberger, I told the staff of the surgical department about the aspects of providing surgical care in the conditions of war in Ukraine and the main areas of activity of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University.

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the administration and the International Relations Department of Ternopil National Medical University for organizing the trip, the European Society of Digestive Oncology for the grant and assistance in the internship, and to my internship mentor, Professor Thomas Grunberger, who generously shared his professional experience and knowledge.

The information was provided by Assist. Professor Andrii Burak.