Where is the da Vinci surgical robot used?
Initially, robotic surgery in urology was used almost exclusively for laparoscopic radical removal of the prostate for prostate cancer. This is still the most common robot-assisted procedure. However, this modern technology is now being successfully applied in more and more areas. Following operations are nowadays performed robot-assisted:
- Radical prostate removal
- Organ-preserving kidney tumor removal
- Kidney removal
- Renal pelvoplasty
- Adrenalectomy
- Radical bladder removal
- Pelvic or retroperitoneal lymph node removal
- Ureteral reimplantation
- Complex kidney or ureteral resection
Particularly since 2006, the year in which the former Clinic Director Prof. T. Sulser took office, there has been a gratifying additional upward trend in the number of procedures involving radical prostatectomies, renal pelvic plastic surgery and, since 2011, cystectomies.
Team of the Urological Robotic Surgery
Innovative forms of treatment, highly qualified and motivated staff, and state-of-the-art medical technology have contributed significantly to the reputation of the Department of Urology at the University Hospital Zurich. The clinic offers the entire spectrum of examinations and treatments of urological diseases in men and women.
Using the latest therapeutic methods, the specialists perform around 2,000 surgical procedures and around 20,000 outpatient consultations each year. In the field of research, outstanding, internationally recognized results have been achieved. In order to sustainably increase the level of innovation, the clinic has its own research department.
How does the surgical robot work?
The da Vinci robotic system is actually a telemanipulator in which the surgeon uses joysticks to control a camera and up to three working instruments with a diameter of 5 to 8 mm from the console. The camera transmits a three-dimensional image and magnifies the structures in the surgical field up to ten times.
The robot translates the surgeon’s hand movements into instrument movements in the surgical field. The natural trembling of the hand is filtered out in the process and the range of motion of the instruments is clearly superior to that of a human hand.