Robotic surgery a top cut
Year 12 2017
One of the first patients in the Far North to be operated on by a robot has marvelled at the precision of the $3.5 million surgical device. Fishery Falls resident Shane Hoad (right), 50, went under the robot-operated knife this week for prostate cancer treatment. Cairns Private Hospital installed the da Vinci Xi surgical robot system last month so it could be used for minimally invasive surgical procedures in areas such as urology, gynaecology, ENT (ear, nose, throat), colorectal, and general surgery.
ONE of the first patients in the Far North to be operated on by a robot has marvelled at the precision of the $3.5 million surgical device.
Fishery Falls resident Shane Hoad, 50, went under the robot-operated knife this week for prostate cancer treatment.
Cairns Private Hospital installed the da Vinci Xi surgical robot system last month so it could be used for minimally invasive surgical procedures in areas such as urology, gynaecology, ENT (ear, nose, throat), colorectal, and general surgery.
The system, the first outside of southeast Queensland, is guided by a trained surgeon.
Mr Hoad, 50, said he was relieved he did not have to travel to Brisbane for the operation.
“If I had to go down south, either my partner or a family member would have had to come down there with me,” he said.
“It would have been five days down there, but with this robot situation, there’s only six little cuts in my stomach, about 15cm long.
“They didn’t have to slice open my stomach at all.
“I’m walking around, at home, in my own comfort – and pretty much the next morning, I could get up and have a shower.
“I am absolutely blown away, because I have absolutely no right to feel as good as I have.”
He encouraged anyone aged 50 and over to have their prostate checked by their GP as soon as possible.
“Early detection is absolutely critical,” he said.
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