Nanotechnology and organ perfusion, the future of transplants is being written in Tuscany
The Ars datathe regional health agency confirm that gl continues to growsurgical interventions in hospitals in Tuscany: 243,807 in 2023. The interventions were compared to 2022 they grew by 12.1 percent and 20.2 and 38.5 percent compared to 2021 and 2020.
The numbers almost equal those of 2019, with a difference of 2.7 percent to be attributed largely (68.5 percent) to the lower number of cesarean sections and other interventions related to pregnancy: 3886 fewer in total, also a consequence of widespread decline in birth rates in Tuscany as in the rest of Italy.
After obstetrics, the specialties that have shown the greatest decrease in operating volumes are orthopedics (-1.9% in 2023 compared to 2019, 1,219 fewer interventions) and ophthalmology (-9.6%, 1,092 interventions). Both of these specialties carry out large volumes of surgical activity, even complex ones, on an outpatient basis. The surgical activity scheduled in private nursing homes has not seen any substantial changes: the volume has not changed.
Oncological surgeries, however, have grown. Tuscany did important work on oncological prevention, both from the point of view of information and with regard to participation in screening campaigns by extending, as in the case of the breast, the age range compared to those foreseen at national level. Science has also made progress in recent years, making interventions possible, as in the case of lung cancerwhich could not have been done until four years ago.
In 2023 the volumes of oncological surgery for twelve pathologies monitored in fact, they overall exceeded the levels provided in all previous years, including 2019 (+11.6%), with an increase of 6.5 percent over 2022.
In detail for the malignant pathology of the breast, lung, prostate, uterus and pancreas in 2023 the number of interventions has increased and the median waiting times are lower than or equal to those recorded before the pandemic; for colon, rectal, liver and stomach cancers the number of interventions is slightly lower, but so are the waiting times.
For kidney tumors interventions are growing significantly (+21% on 2022; +18.5% on 2019) and median waiting times are higher than 2019. For tumors of the central nervous system (both malignant and benign) fewer interventions and median waiting times in increase.
Interventions for malignant thyroid tumors (+13% on 2022; +65.1% on 2019) and the median waiting time is growing. In this case the growth is also linked to the increase in the number of patients coming from other regions. The Pisa hub is in fact a reference on a global level regarding thyroid cancer and attracts patients from all over Italy.
The volumes of disbursement also exceeded those of previous years non-oncological surgery. This happens for all ten types (+8.8% on 2022, +3.7% on 2019). Median waiting times are in line with those of 2019 for cholecystectomy, abdominal hernia, arthroscopy and abdominal aortic aneurysm and inferior for prostheticship, knee and hysterectomy. They are superior for interventions on thyroid, prostate and valvuloplasty.
