Robotic surgery in gynecology

HATZIRAFAEL BASILIKI
ROBOTIC AND LAPAROSCOPIC SURGEON
SPECIALIZED IN ENDOMETRIOSIS
www.hatzirafail.gr

Robotic surgery in gynecology

The most modern and safest way to have surgery

 

The rapid evolution of technology is visible in our daily lives. The medical sector could not be left behind in this field and as a result, the first Da VINCI robotic system was created in 2000. Nowadays we work with the most modern robotic system the Da Vinci Xi .This system is an “excellent assistant” for the surgeon. It is not a stand-alone system that works on its own. It is operated by the surgeon and with its help his movements are perfected.

Nowadays, most gynecological procedures, with minor exceptions, are performed exclusively using the Da Vinci robot. Surgeries such as uterine fibroids, endometriosis, total and partial hysterectomy, uterine cancer, ovarian cysts and urogynecology are performed robotically as it is the most modern and safest method for the patient.

Robotic surgery is superior to simple laparoscopy because it offers a three-dimensional image, a very stable image at high magnification (compared to the two-dimensional image of the laparoscopic screen) and allows the surgeon to accurately reach hard-to-reach areas and perform the surgery perfectly.

The instruments are placed in the patient’s abdomen through four very small incisions. This fact provides a reduction in postoperative pain, better aesthetic result, as the skin is plasticized and complications associated with large incisions such as wound perforation and hernia are avoided. All of the above contribute to a speedy recovery and the hospital stay is only one day. Thanks to the very fine surgical movements a robotic surgery is considered almost bloodless.

As for fibroids, which are the most common reason for gynecological surgery, they should only be removed by robotic surgery, as the advantages are more than other methods. A surgery using the robot increases the surgeon’s ability to remove, with very fine movements, the fibroids, since it provides better visualization of the surgical plan, resulting in absolute precision. Also, the stitching of the uterus can be done in three levels with great precision, an extremely important feature, especially in fibroids that touch the endometrium, because during their removal and stitching the endometrial cavity is not destroyed and thus there are no fertility problems after surgery.