Da Vinci – the surgical robot – marks its first anniversary of use at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem
With the launching of the surgical robot “da Vinci,” the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem has joined the elite group of the world’s leading medical centers that use this advanced technology. Operations that in other hospitals are performed using the conventional open incisions to reach internal organs are now carried out at Hadassah using tiny “keyholes” no longer than a few millimeters long.
The robot’s surgical advantages
Dr. Yoav Mintz, a senior surgeon in the general surgery department, says that the hospital purchased the robotic surgical system a year ago. An interdisciplinary team was trained to use the innovative system, and about 60 operations were performed very successfully using the technology. The system’s advantages include minimally invasive access, tiny incisions that leave very small scars with excellent cosmetic results, reduced pain, fewer respiratory complications and early mobility and post-surgical discharge of patients.
Robot-assisted surgery also has these unique advantages – three-dimensional imaging unavailable in conventional laparoscopic surgery; surgical devices with an additional joint near the end that makes possible almost unlimited movement and is even more versatile than the human palm; and a computerized system connecting the patient to the surgeon that neutralizes the doctor’s natural tremble.
Thus one can achieve maximum accuracy and delicate movement in minimally invasive surgery and comfort during the operation. The robot doesn’t perform automatically or function independently, but rather it boosts the surgeon’s abilities and improves his (or her) performance. Robot surgery is essentially an advanced minimally invasive laparoscopic operation with which one can perform risky operations such as on the esophagus, liver, prostate and more. Until now, these operations have been performed the old way in open surgery. In prostate surgery, for example, precision minimizes the risk of damage to the patient’s sexual function.
Prof. Ofer Gofrit, a senior urologist at Hadassah-Ein Kerem, performed during the past year dozens of prostate cancer operations with the robot’s help.
The da Vinci system boosts the surgeon’s ability,” said Prof. Gofrit. “The great precision, the improved ability to see the surgical area from all angles and maximum stability provided by the device significantly improve the operation’s results.”
In the US, most prostate surgery operations are performed using the da Vinci robot.
Mr. Eran Goldschmidt from Haifa was due to undergo an operation in his city, but when he examined all the possibilities, he decided to have it done at Hadassah Medical Center, with Prof. Avi Rivkind using the da Vinci robot. At all other Israeli hospitals, his operation would have been carried out using the open technique, with the large incision and extended hospitalization. “I am very happy with the choice I made,” he said. “The operation left my body with only small incisions that are almost invisible. The next day, I already walked around, drank and ate. Two days after the operation, I returned to full activity. It is an incredible technological wonder.”
Prof. Rivkind , Hadassah’s chief of general surgery, adds with pride: “Our joining the world ‘Rolls Royce Club’ gives us the improved ability to perform complex minimally invasive operations.”
Dr. Avi Benshushan, a senior gyneco-oncologist at Hadassah-Ein Kerem uses the da Vinci robot for a wide range of purposes. He says “the robot facilitates complex surgery to remove tumors in the female reproductive system. Recovery from surgery is short and return to routine is speedy.”
How the robot “was born”
When the US began to develop its ambitious space program, its leaders asked what would happen if the first astronaut on the moon, Neal Armstrong, would get sick while in space and need an operation. Would surgical theaters be built in space stations? Would a team of senior surgeons remain on duty all the time, just in case? Of course not. With help from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a surgical robot was developed that could be manipulated from a surgical theater on Earth and be able to perform an operation on the patient in space. The result was successful beyond expectations. It turned out that by using the robot, a surgeon could operate better and more accurately than doing it alone.
Use of the robot at Hadassah University Medical Center
Hadassah University Medical Center is Israel’s pioneer and leader in minimally invasive surgery. The great experience its doctors accumulated made possible the introduction of the da Vinci Robot. In the past year, urological surgery for prostate cancer, general surgery and gynecological surgery have all been performed with great success.
There is no doubt that in the coming years, more and more patients will chose to be operated on using this technology, and the great deal of experience amassed at Hadassah University Medical Center will serve them.
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