In a five hour Operation In a patient with lymphedema, the finest connections were made between lymphatic vessels and veins. The operated person is doing well, she can go home three days after the operation, the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) announced on Thursday.
The Symani robot used enables operations that have not yet been possible. The method is also more convenient for the person performing the procedure, as the procedure can be carried out sitting and remotely controlled.
More precise approach
Operations on blood and lymph vessels or nerves with a diameter of less than 0.8 millimeters could basically just as well be carried out by hand, explains Nicole Lindenblatt, who carried out the procedure. But with the robot one can penetrate deeper layers and operate on even finer vessels.
The robot is entirely controlled by the surgeon. She is sitting on an armchair with two tweezers in her hand. The movements it makes are transmitted to the micro-instruments. The operating area is shown enlarged up to 30 times on a screen by means of a camera. Through special glasses, which the surgeons also wear, they see the image in 3D.
Lindenblatt, Deputy Director of the Clinic for Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, quickly got used to the robot: “We practiced on 0.5 millimeter plastic vessels in the Skills Lab. At the beginning I didn’t know exactly how much force I was exerting on the instruments The challenge was that I didn’t feel how strong the pressure was. After a few days it was possible to sew the vessels precisely without any problems. “
Only third use worldwide
At the USZ, between 200 and 250 patients undergo microsurgical operations every year – for breast reconstructions, reconstructions of the head, neck and extremities and in lymph surgery. You will all benefit from the surgical robot. The Symani microsurgical robot has only been used three times worldwide: in the Salzburg University Hospital, Zurich University Hospital and in the Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi in Florence.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
