For the first time in Italy, surgeons have successfully performed a uterine transposition followed by repositioning to preserve fertility in a young woman undergoing treatment for rectal cancer. The procedure was carried out at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Gemelli in Rome by a multidisciplinary medical team.
The operation involved temporarily moving the uterus and ovaries outside the radiation field before chemotherapy and radiotherapy, using a minimally invasive robotic technique. After cancer treatment was completed, the uterus was returned to its natural position, and the patient resumed normal menstrual function.
The case, documented in a video article published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, highlights new possibilities for fertility preservation in young oncology patients. The technique has been performed only in a handful of centers worldwide and on roughly twenty women to date. Doctors at the Gemelli hospital have already repeated the procedure successfully on a second patient.