Cape Town - Tygerberg Hospital is paving the way through surgical innovation and the latest technology after performing its first robotic-assisted surgery this week.
The hospital has become the first public hospital in Africa to perform robotic-assisted surgery and formally launched its da Vinci surgical robotic programme yesterday.
Two da Vinci Xi systems, the fourth generation and most technologically advanced surgical robot available, were acquired by the province in October. The other is at Groote Schuur Hospital.
Tygerberg Hospital said the main diseases the programme would focus on were colorectal, liver, prostate, kidney and bladder cancers, and women with severe endometriosis.
The da Vinci Surgical System gives surgeons an advanced set of instruments to use in performing robotic-assisted minimally invasive (keyhole) surgery.
The operation is not performed by a robot alone; instead, the system gives surgeons an advanced set of tools/instruments that the surgeon guides from a dedicated console via fibre optic cables.
The Da Vinci system thus “translates” a surgeon’s hand movements at the console in real time, bending and rotating the instruments while performing the procedure. The tiny surgical instruments move inside the patient like a human hand, but with far greater precision and with a significantly greater range of motion.
“Once again, the Tygerberg Hospital has come up with ground-breaking technology with which they will perform robotic surgeries, meaning they will be the first hospital on the continent to perform these types of surgeries.
“The timing just after the fourth wave of Covid-19 is perfect, because just after this surgery patients have a shorter hospital stay and recovery time, which allows them to get home quicker to be with their families and to return to work,” Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said.
“The focus has been more on Covid-19; now we are in the process of phasing in non-Covid-19 illnesses. I applaud the team at the hospital – well done.”
Tygerberg Hospital CEO Dr Matodzi Mukosi said: “This is an opportunity to use state-of-the-art medical technology to improve the patients’ experience and ensure good clinical outcomes. This will also be a good morale booster for our surgeons and theatre staff who will be able to showcase their skills and capabilities in the field.”
Tygerberg Hospital Head of Colorectal Surgery and Robotics Co-ordinator, Dr Tim Forgan, said: “The da Vinci robotic system is the latest cutting-edge technology in minimally invasive surgery.
“To use this surgical system (that has been shown to decrease the chance of complications, while allowing for successful major surgery through small incisions) at Tygerberg Hospital is exciting and inspirational.”
Laticia Pienaar, Tygerberg Hospital’s principal communications officer, said the robot would be used continuously in order to reduce surgical waiting lists. Pienaar said the first operations were performed on Monday.