Third hospital in Vietnam applies robotic endoscopic surgery

The Ho Chi Minh City-based Cho Ray Hospital put into operation its newest robotic endoscopic surgery system on October 23^rd, becoming the third hospital in the country to apply this modern technique to treat a variety of cancers.

A doctor practices robotic surgeries at HCM City-based Cho Ray Hospital. (Credit: thanhnien.vn)

According to Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Truong Son, Director of Cho Ray Hospital, the system is being deployed for surgeries in treatment for cancers of the prostate, kidney, bladder, colorectal, lung and liver, as well as in choledochoectomy and the reconstruction of kidney-ureter.

In the future, robotic surgery will be implemented synchronously in orthopedic injuries or cardiac surgeries, Son added.

The robotic surgery system was invested in by Cho Ray Hospital at a cost of VND 71 billion (USD 3.1 million), from a stimulus loan package of Ho Chi Minh City. This is a U.S.-made Da Vinci robot, considered to be the most state-of-the-art surgical robot system in the world.

Robotic endoscopic surgery is a surgical system operated remotely under the supervision of doctors in a precise, flexible, safe and effective manner in order to provide the best treatment. Up until now, robotic applications have evolved to the fourth generation with four surgical arms, a smart camera head, a 540-degree angle of operation, and a 3D imaging system. With this angle, no human arm can operate a surgery.

Robotic endoscopic surgery has a high success rate due to the large magnification and free-arms operating flexibly in the abdominal cavity, which can be manipulated at deep points in the patients’ body. In addition, the robot has the ability to meticulously detach tumors and suture open parts of the surgical wounds. Patients undergoing robotic surgeries are able to shorten their treatment time and reduce hospitalisation costs.

"The application of hi-tech achievements in medicine has contributed to the great success of the medical sector in general and surgery in particular. The deployment of robotic surgery system at Cho Ray Hospital will benefit patients with the most modern techniques in medicine," Son said.

The robotic arms of the Da Vinci system.

Prof., Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Medical Examination and Treatment Management Department (the Ministry of Health), said that in March 2014 the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi was the first to launch an internal pediatric robotic endoscopic surgery centre. In December 2016, Binh Dan Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City also inaugurated the first adult robotic surgery system in Vietnam.

Robotic surgery has been practiced in the U.S. since the late 1980s and, at present, robotic surgery is routinely performed at major surgical centres in the U.S., Europe, Japan and the Republic of Korea for major and complex surgeries.

Despite having a higher cost than open and endoscopic surgeries, the price for robotic operations in Vietnam is much lower than other countries in the region and around the world and will therefore help domestic patients to have the opportunity to access the most modern medical treatment./.

VNF/NDO