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Robotic Surgery
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Please note that a referral letter is required before an appointment can be confirmed.
About robotic surgery
Robotic surgery, or robot-assisted surgery, enables surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery with more precision and accuracy.
At Mater Private Dublin, we use the da Vinci Surgical System for many types of complex procedures such as prostate, gynaecology, colorectal, nephrectomy and lung surgery.
Robotic-assisted surgery is a combination of a skilled surgeon working with advanced technology, to provide an effective, minimally invasive alternative to both open surgery and laparoscopic surgery.
At Mater Private Network, our highly skilled surgeons use sophisticated robotic technology to enhance and complement surgical techniques, resulting in many patient benefits:
- Surgeries are performed through small incisions, replacing the large incisions needed for conventional open surgeries
- Significantly less pain
- Less scarring
- Less blood loss
- Shorter hospital stay
- Quicker recovery time
As well as benefiting the patients, it also has its advantages for surgeons:
- Enhanced 3D view of the operating area
- Improved dexterity
- Greater surgical precision
- Improved access
- Increased range of motion
Mater Private Dublin first established a robotic-assisted surgical programme in 2010. Since then almost 2,000 patients have benefitted from this type of surgery. The programme at Mater Private Dublin is the most developed and experienced programme in the entire country. Every week our surgeons, and indeed many visiting surgeons, perform robotic-assisted procedures in our hospital with the support of a highly skilled theatre team.
How it works
The da Vinci Surgical System is a sophisticated robotic platform designed to enhance the surgeon’s capabilities. It is important to distinguish that this is not a robot carrying out surgery but rather robotic-assisted surgery – using robotic technology to assist the surgeon in carrying out surgery.
It requires that every surgical manoeuvre be performed with direct input from the surgeon. The System consists of a surgeon’s console and an instrument cart.
The instrument cart has four interactive robotic arms with patented EndoWrist instruments and a high-definition 3D camera.
Seated at the console, the surgeon views a high-resolution 3D image of the surgical site. At the same time, state-of-the-art robotic and computer technologies scale, filter and seamlessly translate your surgeon’s hand, wrist and finger movements into precise micro-movements of the da Vinci instruments.
Since 2010 over 1,600 patients have had robotic-assisted prostatectomy surgery. Patients travel from all over Ireland to avail of this innovative surgical technique, and the advantages it can offer in recovery and outcomes include:
- Faster return of erectile (sexual) function
- Better chance for return of urinary continence within six months
- Less blood loss or need for a transfusion
- Lower risk of wound infection
- Shorter hospital stay
- Less chance of hospital readmission
- Less risk of deep vein thrombosis
Talk to your surgeon about reasonable expectations for recovery of sexual function and a rehabilitation program that may include exercises and drug therapy.
Mater Private Dublin offers robotic-assisted surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System for complex hysterectomies and other gynaecological procedures.
With da Vinci Hysterectomy, surgeons operate through a few small incisions - similar to a traditional laparoscopy.
Patients who have a hysterectomy via the robotic procedure have a quicker return to normal activities than patients having other methods of surgery. Robotic-assisted surgery enhances the surgical technique for patients where it is difficult to carry out the surgery, for instance in the case of patients with a large uterus and in obese patients.
Mater Private Dublin also offers robotic-assisted surgery with the da Vinci Surgical system for colorectal surgery.
In colon cancer surgery, doctors remove the diseased part of the colon, and reconnect the remaining healthy parts. In rectal cancer surgery the goal is to remove the cancer and connect the sigmoid colon (part of colon closest to rectum) with the remaining healthy part of the rectum.
Some colorectal surgeries are not available with the da Vinci Surgical System.
The minimally invasive technique of the da Vinci colorectal surgery offers the following benefits:
- Less blood loss and less pain
- Shorter hospital stay
- Small incisions for minimal scarring
- Improved cancer margins
- Lower conversion rate to open surgery
- Quicker return to a soft diet
Mater Private Dublin offers robotic-assisted surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System for partial nephrectomy. In this case surgeons remove only the tumour and leave the healthy portion of the kidney. The da Vinci partial nephrectomy enables surgeon to operate with enhanced vision, precision, and control.
The da Vinci partial nephrectomy offers the following benefits:
- Shorter warm ischemic time (shorter is better to kidney function)
- Less blood loss
- Shorter hospital stay
- Fewer complications
- Better renal (kidney) function rate
Future development
The next development planned for the robotic program is the inclusion of liver and gastric surgery, thus expanding the application of minimal access surgery to the most challenging anatomical disease locations.
