Robotics - the future of medicine (Advertorial/partner spotlight)

Robot-assisted surgeries using the da Vinci surgical system have been performed for decades around the world. In our Department of Urology of the European Health Center in Otwock, affiliated with the 2nd Urology Clinic of the Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, we have been using this superb device for one and a half years, having successfully treated dozens of patients with prostate cancer.

Robot-assisted surgery with the assistance of the da Vinci surgical system is currently the most advanced minimally-invasive method of surgical treatment of many kinds of diseases. It allows for otherwise unavailable precision and a perfect view of the surgical field, achieved with up to 10x optical zoom. The robot has no autonomy and will not carry out any movement without the control and will of the surgeon. It is the surgeon steering the robot. Thanks to advanced technology, an almost unlimited range of tool movement within a very small operating field, and a highly magnified, three-dimensional view, we are allowed to dissect tissue, a tumor, or an organ with high precision, with no or minimal damage to surrounding structures. In the case of surgical treatment of prostate cancer, this is of tremendous significance for the quality of postoperative urinary continence and erectile function.

At the University of Chicago, where I had an opportunity to obtain training in the field of robotic surgery, robot-assisted surgeries with the da Vinci surgical system are performed in almost every case of the disease that needs surgical management.

We use the da Vinci surgical system to operate on patients with prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy with or without extended pelvic lymph node dissection) and bladder cancer (radical cystectomy). We undergo intense training to start using the robot for the treatment of patients with renal tumors in the nearest future.

The advantages of a robot-assisted surgery with the da Vinci surgical system: minimally-invasive surgery (just a few small cuts in the skin), an extraordinary precision during the operation (a significant impact on the oncologic and functional quality of the treatment), minimal blood loss — in our department, for a number of years we have not been routinely ordering blood products for prostate cancer surgeries (a perfect choice for patients unwilling to receive blood products), an excellent cosmetic effect, fast recovery and restoration of normal life activity — in our ward, the patient becomes ambulatory, eating a light diet on the first postoperative day, and discharged home on the second day.

Łukasz Nyk, MD, PhD, FEBU, Head of the Urology Department - European Health Center Otwock, Poland. 

For more information, please contact us: tel. 785 858 431, ecz-otwock.pl