Lenny, Leonardo, Mona Lisa: These were the names of the first three prototypes of the Da Vinci operating system from the USA, which supports surgeons in their work. Today, the ingenious robot has long since arrived in domestic operating theatres. On Thursday and Friday, experts will report in the Upper Austria News Forum in the Promenaden Galerien Linz how and why robotics saves lives in medicine, enables better results and helps to get well faster. Interventions from three operating theaters are broadcast live. The advantages of robot-assisted operations are manifold:
Exact results: “With the Da Vinci robot, we can achieve an accuracy of half a millimeter and half a degree,” says Univ.-Prof. Tobias Gotterbarm. The board of directors of the University Clinic for Orthopedics and Traumatology at the Kepler University Hospital in Linz operates knee and hip prostheses with the robot.
Less painkillers: Studies show that patients need less medication after the procedure.
fit earlier: “This is particularly important for cancer patients, who can start further treatments – such as chemotherapy – sooner after surgery,” says Primar Matthias Biebl from the Ordensklinikum Linz, where two Da Vinci robots are in use.
Better planning: Because the technology provides 3D images, interventions can be better prepared. “We also work with up to tenfold magnification,” says primary Michael Dunzinger from the Salzkammergut Clinic in Vöcklabruck.
Working in a confined space: “Especially in urology, we benefit from the unbelievable flexibility,” says Clemens Georg Wiesinger, head of the Wels-Grieskirchen clinic. For example, after the bladder has been removed, a new organ can be formed from the small intestine for the patient. Modern technology also helps with kidney cancer and prostate carcinoma.
Best education: Before a doctor can work on people with the Da Vinci system, he must perform many theoretical operations and obtain certificates.
Health Provincial Minister Christine Haberlander (VP) holds out the prospect of a further gradual expansion of robot-assisted surgery in Upper Austria. There are currently five Da Vinci systems in use in our federal state, each costing up to two million euros, as well as several other robots. Even if the sophisticated machines are making the work of the doctors better and better, the experts agree that people are indispensable.
Source: Nachrichten
