A NEW type of surgery is now available in Cyprus, offering benefits to both patient and doctor.
Robotic surgery, described as the most advanced surgical treatment option in the world today, was brought here last month in the form of the da Vinci system, by the Hippocrateion Hospital in Nicosia (European Urological Centre).
So far, five urological procedures have been successfully performed by a trained medical team.
The da Vinci system, costing €2 million, is the latest revolutionary advancement in the field of laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgery worldwide. It maximises surgeons’ capabilities while making surgical procedures less painful and safer for patients.
The procedure is almost bloodless and scarless, with long surgical incisions replaced by those only three millimetres in length.
Anesthesia lasts for a shorter duration compared to conventional treatment options, whereas loss of blood, complications, post-surgical pain and discomfort are minimised.
Hospital stay is also significantly decreased with patients quickly returning to their daily activities.
“Robotic surgery changes the field for both us and our patients. We are now able to perform complex manipulations which were unattainable in the past, therefore procedures become safer and more effective,” Dr Demetris Demetriou, head of the robotic surgery team at the Hippocateion, told the Mail.
“Especially with regards to radical prostatectomy, robotic surgery is today the only option that practically eradicates severe side-effects caused by the traditional open method, in other words, the usual onset of erection problems and incontinence. This is due to the fact that it eliminates the risk of traumatising peripheral organs and nerves that control erection and urination.”
According to Demetriou, “all procedures carried out in Cyprus so far have been to treat prostate cancer. In the future, however, we are looking to apply the surgery in other fields.”
Elsewhere, robotic surgery has been applied in other surgical specialties including general laparoscopic surgery, gynaecological surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery and in pathogenetic obesity procedures.
“Procedures on the island cost between €10,000 and €20,000 and there is no waiting list,” stated Demetriou.
Yiannakis Ioannou was the first Cypriot to undergo a robotic radical prostatectomy. The 64-year-old was very pleased with the results. “I went home two days after my operation without the burden of a long incision or great pain and, most importantly, safe from serious side effects involved in this type of procedure,” he said. “I am really happy that I was able to undergo such a pioneering operation here.”
How does the da Vinci system work?
It is the first and, for the time being, only system of robotic surgery and has been FDA approved since July 2000.
Today, more than 870 da Vinci surgical systems are used throughout the world with more than 60,000 procedures performed so far.
It comprises a surgeon’s console, the InSite Vision System, which allows for real time 3D vision and a four-arm system, on which surgical instruments are mounted.
The surgeon sits on the console, inside the operating theatre at a distance from the patient, manipulating the arms’ surgical instruments, already inserted by the surgical team in the patient’s body through micro-incisions.
Having 3D vision from the console, the surgeon then moves the arms with the designated controls. Each arm is attached to a surgical instrument whereas the camera is mounted on the central arm. The arms are much more flexible than the human wrist, with a rotation range in excess of 360 degrees.
The da Vinci also possesses a 3D lens system, which magnifies the surgical field up to 15 times, significantly enhancing human vision and allowing the surgeon to perform detailed, precise and steadier movements.
The robot does not replace the surgeon; it serves as the surgeon’s assistant subject to its total control and management.
