Research fellowship in Chicago - experience with Da Vinci single-port
“The city lights of Chicago always shine so bright.” This is one of the most famous captions on social media about Chicago (Illinois), and I have to tell you that my first thought when I landed at O'Hare Airport and took my cab to the city was not so different. I left Milan and my urology residency school at Ospedale San Raffaele and I was feeling anxious but full of enthusiasm for my first research fellowship, at the end of my third year of residency.
My mentor was Assoc. Prof. Simone Crivellaro (US), who is the Director of minimally invasive urology at UI Health Hospital and world pioneer on the use of the Da Vinci Single-Port (DVSP) robotic platform. The DVSP has recently been introduced also in the European market.
The duration of my fellowship was six months, a period that I considered adequate for my goals: to observe operating room cases performed with the DVSP, and to do research on this new machine, mainly focused on outcomes research. I feel lucky to have seen the LARA (low anterior retroperitoneal access) approach with the single port to access the kidney or the adrenal gland, as well as benign and malignant cases treated with the DVSP.
In addition, I had the opportunity to use the DVSP platform within dry-labs organised one day a week; I also had the chance to participate in the courses organised to use the robotic platform: truly a wonderful experience! In these occasions I had the great chance to learn firsthand the advantages, disadvantages, as well as some tips and tricks about this new platform.
It was also a wonderful experience to live in in Chicago! Although I was there for the winter months, encountering very cold weather, which I was not used to, it did not reduce the charm of the so-called Second City. For blues music lovers, for sports lovers, for art lovers - Chicago has a lot to offer!
In conclusion, my research fellowship was a once-in-a-lifetime experience not only from a professional point of view, but also from a human point of view. On the one hand, it was my first big step in the field of research. On the other hand, it allowed me to watch and touch the “hottest” robotic platform of the moment. Lastly, having lived in a new continent far from home as fascinating as the United States, in a city as vibrant as Chicago, for me it was and will be something I can never forget and as a famous blues musician from the windy city said, “Going to Chicago was like going out of the world.“
See more details on EAU scholarship opportunties here.