More precision, less pain with robotic surgery
New machine capable of complex procedures
SOUTH Africans are to benefit from a revolutionary robotic system capable of performing complex surgical procedures on humans.
Patients with prostrate problems will be the first in the country to go under the robotic knife in October, when the Da Vinci surgery robotic system goes live at the Pretoria Urology Hospital.
The sophisticated robot, which resembles an octopus and is operated by remote controls by surgeons, costs between R15.5-million and R17.5million.
It offers surgeons enhanced dexterity and greater precision while operating, and patients benefit from quicker recovery times and less pain.
“In the case of a prostatectomy [removal of the prostate gland], the area where the gland is has lots of nerves that have to be protected and lots of precision is needed,” said the hospital’s CEO, Sarel van der Walt.
The urology hospital, which already uses highly specialised technology, is sending urologists to Belgium this month for “intensive training” on how to use the machine.
“When they come back, they
This way, there is even more accuracy than there was before
will bring a doctor who will help with the first few surgeries. We cannot experiment on patients,” said Van der Walt. “It will be exciting to see a machine holding the instruments and not the human hand.”
Explaining how the machine works, he said: “The doctor is there next to the patient, but this way there is more accuracy than before [because the robot’s movements are more precise than the human hand can be].”
The machine, a first for South Africa, can also be used for gynaecological procedures and is popular in Europe and the US.
Thomas Dunbar, who heads Earth Medical — part of the Litha Group, which supplies medical equipment to hospitals — said the robot technology would take minimally invasive surgery to the next level.