The Excellence of Oncologist Domenico Sabia: Appointed Mentor of the Prestigious European School of Peritoneal Surgical Oncology

Dr. Domenico Sabia, director of the Peritoneal Cancer Institute (PCI) and one of the world’s most experienced surgeons in advanced peritoneal surgery, has been appointed mentor by the European School of Peritoneal Surgical Oncology (ESSO). This distinction, granted only to specialists with an exceptional track record, reinforces his role as an international leader in cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. The award was presented during the biennial “World Congress on Peritoneal Carcinomatosis”, held this year in Barcelona.

A recognition of years of dedication and leadership

Dr. Sabia describes this appointment as a blend of personal satisfaction and professional pride: “It is the result of many years of clinical, surgical and educational work. We have dedicated twenty years to this field.” With this appointment, Dr. Sabia becomes one of the professionals responsible for training the next generation of specialists who will shape the future of peritoneal surgical oncology.

Over this period, he and his team have established themselves as one of the most recognized and experienced groups worldwide in cytoreduction and HIPEC, performing between 120 and 140 procedures a year and nearly 2.000 in total to date. This level of activity has allowed them to achieve outstanding technical and clinical mastery, built on continuous practice, constant improvement and a deep vocation. For Sabia, surgery goes beyond technique: “Surgery is an art: one part science, one part passion, and one part surgical skill. You have to grow in all three areas to gain true experience.”

The unit: pioneers in Spain and a training center

The Barcelona unit has been a pioneer in peritoneal surgical oncology, both in Spain and in Europe. For years, it was the only reference center in Catalonia, enabling its expertise to grow alongside the complexity of the cases it received.

This recognition as a mentor formalizes a role that he and his team have carried out for almost two decades: training surgeons from other hospitals and countries. “In medical textbooks and in today’s training schools, not everyone has the chance to learn this technique, which is very different from standard oncologic surgery,” Sabia explains.

Thanks to this teaching vocation, between 30 and 40 international groups have trained in his unit to learn the surgical technique and the comprehensive management of peritoneal patients: diagnosis, treatment, follow up, complex decision making, and multidisciplinary coordination.

Beyond the technique: the essence of mentoring

For Domenico Sabia, being a mentor is not only about passing on a surgical technique, however complex it may be. It also means accompanying the trainee surgeon in one of the most demanding areas of medicine, where every decision can change a life and where the human dimension is as important as the precision of the scalpel: “You help them start a very complex project, and they must understand that it is not just surgery, but also multidisciplinary patient management.”

In this field, the emotional burden and responsibility are constant, and training does not end in the operating room: “Every day we face critical situations where there is no room for error. We are dealing with critical problems daily, and we have to make vital decisions at every moment…”

For Dr. Sabia, true excellence lies not only in technique, but in the ability to listen, support and understand patients and their families at times of extreme vulnerability. This is why he emphasizes the essential value he seeks to instill in the professionals he trains: “Sooner or later we all learn to do our job… but you can do it in different ways. In our field, more humanity is needed to stand by our patients.”

Innovation and the future

The unit maintains its international leadership thanks to its commitment to personalized therapy, researching the genetic and molecular profiles of tumors to develop targeted treatments. They are currently working on a publication on pseudomyxoma peritonei and collaborating with several reference centers, such as those in Manchester and Milan, achieving promising results.

Although technology continues to advance, Dr. Sabia stresses that the key factor remains human skill: “What helps most is the surgeon’s hand. New technologies and instruments have their role, but a limited one in this type of surgery. That is why years of experience and the number of cases we have treated are fundamental to the success of our therapies.”

The importance of ESSO in Europe

ESSO, Europe’s leading institution for advanced training in peritoneal surgical oncology, aims to provide a structured, high level program that ensures specialists acquire the best clinical surgical, and scientific competencies needed to work in an extremely complex field such as peritoneal cancer.

Being appointed mentor means that the professional has not only extensive clinical experience, but also the ability to train surgeons from other hospitals and countries within a demanding program combining supervised practice, attendance at international congresses, and research projects.

This recognition places Dr. Sabia and his Peritoneal Cancer Institute unit, part of the Teknon Medical Center in Barcelona, among Europe’s most highly accredited training centers, strengthening its position as an international benchmark in peritoneal oncology