'Da Vinci SP' Achieves 5,000 Cases, World's First
Severance Hospital announced on the 15th that it has become the world's first institution to achieve 40,000 cases of single-institution robotic surgery.
This milestone comes about two years after reaching 30,000 robotic surgeries in 2021. Severance Hospital, which first applied robotic surgery to cholecystectomy and prostatectomy in Korea in 2005, has rapidly grown by achieving 10,000 cases in 2013, 20,000 in 2018, and 30,000 in 2021.
Among the 40,000 cases, 5,000 were performed using the latest single-port robotic surgery system, the da Vinci SP. The da Vinci SP is mainly used for surgeries in narrow and deep areas such as thyroidectomy and oral cancer resection. Utilizing this system can reduce pain and scarring, thereby increasing patient satisfaction.
According to Intuitive Surgical, the manufacturer of robotic surgical devices including the da Vinci SP, the total number of robotic surgeries performed in Korea has reached 313,000 as of this month. This means that more than one in every ten surgeries in Korea was conducted at Severance Hospital.
Severance Hospital possesses the largest number of robotic surgical devices in Korea. The hospital currently operates a total of 10 surgical robots, including nine da Vinci robotic surgical systems and one domestically developed robotic surgical device, Revo-i. So far, over 100 doctors across 17 clinical departments?including Urology, Thyroid and Endocrine Surgery, Gastrointestinal Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Colorectal Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery (Lung), and Breast Surgery?have performed robotic surgeries.
In addition to the record of 40,000 robotic surgeries, Severance Hospital holds various pioneering records in each clinical department. The Department of Urology recorded Korea’s first robotic surgeries for prostate and kidney cancer, the world’s first pyeloplasty in pediatric patients, and Asia’s first 10,000 robotic surgeries within a single clinical department. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology successfully performed da Vinci SP robotic surgery on patients with endometrial cancer, and the Department of Breast Surgery achieved 500 robotic breast surgeries in August. Both cases are world firsts. The Transplant Surgery Department also performed Korea’s first donor kidney transplant using robotic assistance.
The Department of Plastic Surgery performed the world’s first submuscular expander-implant breast reconstruction, totally extraperitoneal abdominal flap breast reconstruction, and latissimus dorsi flap breast reconstruction, enhancing both treatment outcomes and cosmetic satisfaction for breast cancer patients.
Severance Hospital has demonstrated excellent research capabilities in the field of robotic surgery by publishing 776 related papers. Recognized for its clinical achievements, research capabilities, and expertise by Intuitive Surgical, the hospital was selected in 2021 as an international education center and epicenter for single-port (SP) robotic surgery. Furthermore, it has trained over 2,200 trainees from 39 countries, including the UK and Japan, passing on robotic surgery techniques to medical professionals worldwide.
Since introducing robotic surgery in 2005, Severance Hospital has led the development of robotic surgery in Korea. Most existing robotic surgical techniques, such as the two-step traction method-based thyroidectomy using SP, were developed by Severance Hospital’s medical staff.
Ham Won-sik, Director of the Robotic Endoscopic Surgery Center, stated, "Severance Hospital leads the beginning and growth of robotic surgery, which can be seen as the cutting-edge surgical technique in surgery, by not only achieving excellent treatment outcomes but also increasing patient satisfaction through minimally invasive incision reduction. We will continue to evolve as an institution that can provide guidelines not only to domestic but also to global medical professionals."
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