Robotic-Assisted Surgery Unit
Da Vinci is the most advanced system for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery
Robotic systems are aimed at facilitating the surgeon’s work and increasing benefits for patients both during the operation and improving their subsequent quality of life.
The da Vinci robot is the most sophisticated instrument available today for the treatment of urologic diseases, including prostate cancer, kidney cancer, bladder tumours, the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia, female pelvic prolapses and for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain caused by pudendal nerve entrapment, among other conditions.
The sophistication of both the imaging systems and the design of the instruments allow the surgeon to perform highly complex procedures with maximum precision and optimal results.
The advanced da Vinci surgical system represents the ultimate and most recent evolution of minimally invasive surgery.
Benefits for patients
- Robotic-assisted surgery offers patients all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery.
- Faster recovery after surgery.
- Less post-operative pain.
- Reduced risk of erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
- Less scarring as the abdominal incisions are a lot smaller.
- Shorter hospitalisation time.
- Quick return to everyday activities.
- Lower risk of infection.
- Lower risk of complications.
- In the case of urology procedures, it improves continence and sexual potency compared to other more invasive techniques.
Clinical benefits
- Oncological radicality — removal with greater precision.
- Ease of access to challenging anatomies.
- Excellent visualisation of anatomical landmarks.
- More detailed view of slit planes.
- Greater precision in the demolition procedure.
- Increased reconstructive precision.
- Different surgical manoeuvre precision settings (possible scales 1.5:1; 2:1; 3:1).
- Removes physiological tremor.
Diseases and treatments
Prostate Cancer — Robotic Radical Prostatectomy
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed tumour in men in Europe and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. The main risk factor is age, and prostate checks should be performed from the age of 50.
Robotic-assisted surgery in the treatment of prostate cancer offers all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, providing important benefits to the patient, key to a better result.
Bladder Cancer — Robotic Radical Cystectomy
Surgery is the most effective treatment for invasive or high-grade bladder carcinoma.
The goal is to completely remove the tumour and maintain urethral urination by creating a new bladder.
Robotic-assisted surgery increases the chances of a successful outcome. It is considered the treatment of choice or the gold standard in bladder cancer.
Chronic Pelvic Pain — Robotic release of the pudendal nerve
Robotic-assisted surgery currently represents the best surgical approach to achieving nerve release in patients with pudendal nerve entrapment syndrome.
It is very difficult to diagnose, and is characterised by:
- Having a very significant impact on quality of life.
- Affecting both men and women.
Although common, it is very little known.
Kidney Cancer — Robotic Partial Nephrectomy
Surgery is the only effective treatment for kidney tumours.
The goal is to remove the tumour and in most cases it is not necessary to remove the entire kidney. This procedure is called partial nephrectomy.
Robotic-assisted surgery increases the chances of having a successful partial nephrectomy, which is now considered the treatment of choice for kidney cancer.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia — Robotic Adenomectomy
Robotic-assisted surgery is currently the first-choice alternative for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia in patients with prostatic volumes greater than 80 cc.
This is a benign enlargement of the prostate, which grows in prevalence with age. It is not linked to cancer and does not increase the risk of prostate cancer, but it can hinder urination, significantly affecting quality of life.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse - Robotic Sacrocolpopexy
Pelvic organ prolapse is the descent through the vagina of organs located in the pelvic cavity. The reason it occurs is because of a weakening of pelvic floor muscles.
It is a very common condition, affecting almost half of women over 45 years of age. It is often not given the importance it requires since it can significantly affect the quality of life of women suffering from it.
FAQs
How does da Vinci work?
Surgeons using da Vinci technology can perform surgery through small incisions (8 mm). During surgery, your surgeon sits in a console next to you and operates using tiny instruments.
The da Vinci system translates every hand movement your surgeon makes in real time, bending and rotating the instruments with extreme precision. The tiny wrist instruments move like a human hand, but with a greater range of motion.
High-definition 3D view
A camera provides an enlarged high-definition 3D view of the inside of your body. The magnification of the image allows the surgeon to see body tissue in greater detail, increasing effectiveness and reducing sequelae.
Surgeons can use Firefly fluorescence imaging, which offers visualisation beyond the human eye by activating the injected dye to illuminate and clearly show the blood vessels.
The importance of the surgeon
It is important to specify that the robotic system does not perform the surgery. The da Vinci system translates your surgeon's hand movements at the console in real time, so the surgeon’s experience and expertise are essential to successfully perform this type of surgery.
In addition, before surgery it is important to ask about the complication rate, the reoperation, transfusion and/or blood loss rate and the possibility of conversion to an open procedure. There are also additional surgery outcomes that you may want to talk to your doctor about.
Vithas has teams of medical professionals with extensive and certified experience in robotic-assisted surgery.
What advantages does the da Vinci Robotic System offer?
3-dimensional vision
Increased precision throughout surgery.
x12 enlarged vision
Magnifies the image, allows surgeons to see body tissue in greater detail.
Still image
Since there is no tremor (unlike with laparoscopy), the image is static, so the quality of vision is accurate, reducing surgeon fatigue and increasing concentration levels.
Longer instruments
Allows the surgeon to access any part of the body, no matter how deep the operating field.
Instruments with 360 rotation
The surgeon has more freedom of movement, improving dissection and suturing during surgery.
Miniature instruments
Significantly improves each step of the operation, increasing the precision of each cut and reducing damage to healthy tissues.
Ergonomics
The surgeon operates sitting on a console, increasing comfort and significantly reducing fatigue to achieve higher concentration throughout the operation.
Why da Vinci Robotic Surgical System?
The benefits of robotic-assisted surgery in prostate cancer are derived from two factors:
Maximum precision
- High cure rate in prostate cancer.
- Optimal vesicourethral reconstruction: lower risk of urinary fistula and stenosis.
- Lower post-operative complication rate.
- Faster recovery of urinary continence and long-term complete continence results greater than 98%.
- Better preservation of erector nerves with higher sexual potency results than laparoscopy and open surgery.
- Fewer side effects of surgery.
Minimal aggressiveness.
- Less inflammatory reaction. This is a very important point since lower inflammation reduces the repercussions on other organs, reducing complications and making the recovery process after surgery easier.
- Immune system: the minimal invasiveness of robotic-assisted surgery means the immune system stays in optimal conditions. This reduces the risk of postoperative infection. The immune system plays an important role in controlling cancer, so robotic-assisted surgery may have a more favourable outcome in this regard compared to open surgery.
What are the benefits of a radical prostatectomy?
A radical prostatectomy has five goals:
- Prevent tumour recurrence
- Complete urinary continence
- Preservation of sexual potency