Surrey Memorial Hospital is one step closer to providing robotic-assisted surgery with the arrival of the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgery system. It is expected to be used in surgeries in the spring.
“With the aid of the da Vinci Xi system, we can expand minimally invasive thoracic and foregut surgery, and we can do operations with greater precision and accuracy,” says Dr Ahmad Ashrafi, regional division head and chief of thoracic surgery for Fraser Health. “Patients may experience quicker recovery times, and we can carry out more complex procedures right here in Surrey, using minimally invasive techniques. This advanced technology will also help us attract and retain top surgical talent at Surrey Memorial Hospital.”
Construction is underway on an operating room that will accommodate robotic surgery. The system has been unpacked and calibrated and is being held in a temporary location until its permanent location is finished. Fraser Health said that it expects it to “go live” later in the spring.
Surgeons will operate “remote-controlled robotic arms” at a console and will be able to perform laparoscopic surgery with added precision.
“3D high-definition vision allows for ultra-clear views of a patient’s anatomy,” Fraser Health said.
Patients requiring ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and thoracic (lung, chest, esophagus, and stomach) surgeries will be the first to benefit.
Surrey Hospitals Foundation has been raising money for the $5.5-million robotic surgical system for several years.
“With the robot’s arrival at Surrey Memorial Hospital, we are still fundraising for the additional support our surgeons and clinical teams need to get this operational. This includes key equipment for calibration and training,” noted the foundation.
The Regional Robotic Surgery Program will be established in addition to the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System. The program will initially be dedicated to “ear, nose, throat (ENT) and thoracic (includes esophagus, lung and stomach) surgical specialties where the need is particularly urgent; however, the program will expand to include more specialties in the future,” reads a Surrey Hospitals Foundation release.
The program will save “over 288 bed days each year,” Fraser Health said.
“With da Vinci, we can do the surgery in a more minimally invasive way with the smallest incisions possible, leading to better recovery and fewer visible signs of surgery,” Dr. Oleksandr (Alex) Butskiy, surgeon, Surrey Memorial Hospital, said.
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