ROBOTIC SURGERY
Robotic surgery, which has existed in the world for 20 years, is minimally invasive surgery during which all surgeon’s movements are repeated by robotic surgical equipment.
The benefits of robot-assisted surgery include the exceptional precision of the procedures performed, significantly reduced probability of mistakes, more effective treatment and quicker post-operative recovery.
The factors that determine the aforementioned advantages are the following:
Compared to traditional operations, significantly reduced fatigue of the surgeon – instead of the immense tension surgeons undergo while standing next to an operating table, they can perform the operation by comfortably sitting in a chair, away from the patient;
Spectacular spatial high-definition view of the surgical site – during the operation, the surgeon is looking at a computer screen, which displays a significantly zoomed in and magnified view of the surgical site;
Extraordinarily precise surgical movements performed by robotic instruments and remotely controlled via a control panel. Due to this, the possible effects extraneous hand motions can have on the performance of the main movement are minimized.
SENHANCE TRANSENTERIX ROBOTIC SYSTEM
When using the Senhance Transenterix robotic system, all abdominal, urological and gynecological operations can be performed. Till now, there have been 200 operations using the said innovative system performed in Lithuania.
A surgeon who is operating with the help of the Senhance Transenterix system controls the four robotic arms through a computerized panel from the comfort of a special ergonomic chair, which decreases fatigue characteristic to complex operations.
This innovative robotic equipment offers totally new, globally unique technological solutions:
A camera, controlled by the surgeon’s eyeball, helps them view the surgical site especially vividly, increasing surgical precision and facilitating the work of both the surgeon and their assistant;
Tactile sensitivity – when, during an operation, the surgeon’s instrument strikes a hard surface, the surgeon who is controlling the operation via a computerized surgical panel feels that as well.
Special instruments attached to the robotic arms allow large-amplitude motions, which, due to a magnified three-dimensional (3D) view produced by the system, have never been more precise.
In the field of abdominal surgery, robot-assisted equipment can perform all operations, and professional literature is full of data about the potential of its application. As robotic equipment ensures great visibility of the surgical site and precise mobilization of movements and tissues, its greatest advantages are most evident while performing oncological operations, especially when an organ with a tumor must be removed together with all the adjacent tissues affected by metastasis – the vascular and lymphatic basin – which poses problems during open or laparoscopic operations, as the surgical site is hard to reach.
Using robotic surgery during gynecological operations has helped to achieve a major breakthrough in the surgical treatment of gynecological diseases. Compared to open or endoscopic surgery, this technology presents essential benefits, as it decreases the chance of postoperative complications and produces better recovery results. Robotic surgery allows for operation on the most difficult-to-reach pelvic structures, which are accessed more easily. It also allows for the performance of operations that – though are radical – can save the nerves and other tissues of the pelvis minor. This is especially important while operating on patients with uterine and cervical cancers. In addition, due to a stable camera controlled by the surgeon, as well as the multilevel safety system of the robotic device, all actions performed become immaculately precise and safe for the patient.
Robotic surgery is also extraordinarily efficient while operating on patients with rectal and prostate cancers. The newest clinical studies have shown that patients with rectal cancer who have undergone robotically assisted operations tend to live longer, have a higher chance of full recovery and have a lower chance of recrudescence of the disease. Moreover, robotic surgery helps to save the innervation of the pelvis minor. Thus, compared to traditional surgery, urinary or sexual dysfunctions are less common.
Urology is one of the medical fields where robot-assisted surgery is most widely used. While applying this type of surgery during full or partial nephrectomies, kidney tumors are removed more efficiently and the largest possible amount of healthy kidney tissue is preserved. In cases of obstruction of the pyelo-ureteral junction and kidney enlargement, plastic operations on the pyelo-ureteral junction can be performed. Ureteral stones, which cannot be operated on endoscopically, can be removed. Finally, removals of cancer-affected bladders (cystoprostatectomies) can be performed. Robotic surgery is especially common when it comes to the radical treatment of prostate cancer.
In cases involving robotically assisted radical prostatectomies, better cancer treatment results can be achieved, malignant tumors can be removed more efficiently and nerves and blood vessels can be preserved because of the high-quality, three-dimensional view, the ability to magnify the latter and the flexible instruments that produce wide-range motions. Because of these reasons, compared to traditional laparoscopic or open surgery, such interventions are characterized by less frequent complications (e.g., bleeding, postoperative pain), and more patients preserve erectile function and the ability to hold urine. Moreover, male patients are hospitalized for a shorter period of time (2-3 days) and are able to regain their normal physical activity faster (i.e., go back to work and do sport after 2-3 weeks).
Senhance Transenterix robotic systems are widely used in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the USA, Japan, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Morocco and other countries that care about the well-being of their patients and are interested in more efficient treatment possibilities and shorter periods of post-operative recovery.