site.btaThree Operations Launch Robotic Surgery at Medica University Hospital in Ruse

Three successful da Vinci procedures launched robotic surgery at Medica University Hospital in Ruse, the hospital said on Wednesday.

The first procedures using the da Vinci system were performed on July 27 and 28 by Dr Tsanko Yotsov and Dr Paolina Kamenova, under the mentorship of former European Society of Surgery President Ciprian Duta.

The first operation was on a patient with advanced upper gastrointestinal cancer that had caused an obstruction, making eating and drinking impossible. Two more robot-assisted procedures were carried out the next day: bilateral inguinal hernia repair with mesh placement and surgery on a patient with rectal cancer, in which normal gastrointestinal continuity was restored after tumour removal.

All three operations were successful, and the patients were stable and recovering well, the hospital said. One patient was discharged the day after surgery.

The hospital said robotic surgery reduces tissue trauma, blood loss and postoperative pain, shortens hospital stays and speeds recovery compared with traditional open surgery. During an operation, the surgeon controls the system from a dedicated console with a three-dimensional view of the surgical field, while the instruments enable precise work in hard-to-reach anatomical areas.

Duta praised the Medica team’s preparation. Team members completed training and received certification at the Robotic Surgery Centre in Barcelona, Spain.

Robotic surgery is used to treat a wide range of benign and malignant conditions in general and oncological surgery, urology, gynaecology, thoracic surgery and cardiac surgery. The hospital said the programme will be expanded in August to include robot-assisted urological procedures, followed later by thoracic surgery.

Procedures are performed when medically indicated and after consultation with a surgeon. Patients pay only for the required consumables used by the robotic system, the hospital added.

The da Vinci robotic surgical system was delivered to the hospital in June, when training and certification began for the surgeons who will use the new technology.