Reducing Bleeding, Scarring, and Pain with Minimally Invasive Techniques
Increasing Surgical Cases at Major Hospitals in Korea
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As 20 years have passed since the robotic surgical system first appeared in the world, thousands of surgical cases have accumulated at a single hospital, showing that robotic surgery has fully established itself in medical practice. Robotic surgery offers advantages such as minimally invasive procedures, rapid postoperative recovery, and reduced pain, improving patients' quality of life while also alleviating the burden on medical staff by providing better visibility and precision during surgery.
According to the medical community on the 6th, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital recently achieved 3,000 robotic surgeries. Since introducing the second-generation robotic surgical system in 2009, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology surpassed 500 cases of robotic myomectomy?the first in Korea?in 2017, just eight years later. Currently, they actively perform surgeries using a total of four robotic surgical systems, including the latest equipment, and notably, they hold the highest number of robotic surgeries for myomas and adenomyosis in the country.
Uterine myomas are the most common benign tumors occurring in women and can cause infertility depending on their location and characteristics. Adenomyosis is a progressive disease caused by abnormal invasion of endometrial tissue into the uterine muscle layer, which can lead to dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia, and depending on the severity, may also cause infertility.
In particular, Professor Kim Mi-ran (Vice Director of External Cooperation) achieved 1,000 robotic myomectomy cases in November 2019, the first in Asia, and as of February this year, she has performed a total of 1,689 robotic surgeries, holding the record for the highest number of surgeries by a single surgeon in Korea. Professor Kim explained, “Unlike uterine myomas, adenomyosis lesions do not have clear boundaries, making surgery more difficult. We actively perform robotic adenomyomectomy to preserve fertility.”
The Department of Urology at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital also reached 3,000 robotic surgeries earlier in March. By major disease, the cases were prostate 1,671 (56%), kidney 943 (31%), bladder 259 (9%), ureter 86 (3%), in that order.
Nowon Eulji University Hospital surpassed 1,000 robotic surgeries as of last month. By disease, cancer surgeries including prostate cancer, kidney cancer, thyroid cancer, and bladder cancer accounted for 79% (794 cases), actively utilizing robotic surgery for treating severe diseases.
Additionally, the Bladder Cancer Team at Samsung Medical Center's Uro-Oncology Center achieved 300 cases of robot-assisted radical cystectomy. Since the first surgery in August 2008, it took 13 years to reach this milestone, and after reaching 100 surgeries in 2016, the number of surgeries rapidly increased. Robotic bladder cancer surgery is considered one of the most challenging among all urologic cancer surgeries. As surgical experience accumulates, patient prognosis improves and surgery time decreases.
The advancement of robotic surgery goes hand in hand with the development of robotic surgical systems. The latest robotic surgical system, the da Vinci SP, is designed as a single-port platform that can access deep and narrow surgical sites to perform complex surgeries delicately. Both the surgical instruments and the camera mounted on the robotic arms have joints, allowing multi-angle views and facilitating precise surgical procedures. It is especially known for its cosmetic benefits, minimal postoperative wounds and pain, and rapid recovery, resulting in high patient satisfaction.
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