Epworth Richmond is the first hospital in Australia to remove a cancer in the throat using new advanced robotic technology.
The da Vinci SP (Single-Port) system allowed surgeons Dr Matthew Magarey and Prof Ben Dixon to view the cancer at the back of the patient's throat using a high-resolution 3D camera.
"The technology allows us better access to areas of the body that are otherwise very difficult to reach," Dr Magarey said.
That extraordinary access and the new camera means that we can see all the cancer and remove it with very fine movements.
Dr Magarey said the new robot means patients in the early stages of cancer now have a surgical alternative to radiation therapy.
Prof Dixon and Dr Magarey trained on the new machine in California before the first surgery at the start of November. They expect to do about 50 tongue, throat and tonsil cancers operations a year on the new robot.
They have been doing robotic surgery for 12 years at Epworth Richmond and say there will continue to be a significant role for multi-port robotic surgery, which continues to allow for precise surgery within the body, but this new single port system offers our surgeons more options to deliver the best outcomes for our patients.
As well as providing better access, the breakthrough technology of the new da Vinci SP at Epworth Richmond can deliver complex surgery through just one tiny incision.
Where traditional robotic systems involve the surgeon controlling four robotic 'arms' which enter the body through four incisions of around 8mm in diameter, the new machine requires just one incision of around 25mm in diameter.
Epworth has a proud history of innovation, leading the way in robotic-assisted surgery for more than two decades. We continue to expand our robotics program across multiple specialties including orthopaedics, urology, general surgery, cardiac surgery, ear, nose, and throat, spinal surgery, gynaecology and thoracic surgery.
