More disciplines to get robotic help; dual-console unit offers twin advantage

ROBOTS will soon do the work of surgeons in a bigger way at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

The mainstay of urology, colorectal and heart surgeons there since 2002, robotic surgery will be expanded to another four disciplines – ear, nose and throat, gynaecology, general surgery and neurosurgery. Surgeons in these specialities are now being trained for it.

SGH has also invested in a dual-console robotic system, which will, from next month, enable surgeons from two specialities to direct the movement of robotic arms in complex, minimally invasive operations at the same time.
 
This means, for example, that it will be possible for a road accident victim to have repairs done on his bladder and colon simultaneously.

Associate Professor Christopher Cheng, who heads SGH’s urology department, said: “Using the dual-console system means two sets of eyes, hands and skills during surgery. The surgeons can sit comfortably at their own consoles and view the images in real time.”

They thus do not need to trade places back and forth at a single console through the surgery.

It is also a boon in training younger surgeons, since it simulates the learning process in open surgery; the more experienced surgeon can take over the procedure “without bumping the younger one off the driver’s seat”, he added.

Robotic wrists have one mechanical advantage over human ones: they can rotate a full 360 degrees, which greatly enhances ease of movement for the surgeon at the controls.

“Using robotics also eradicates hand tremors as we surgeons age. This means a better operation, reduced complications and recovery time,” added Prof Cheng.

Retiree Low Foo Yong, 71, is one former patient who can attest to quicker recovery time. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2007, he underwent robotic surgery two months later and was on his feet just three hours after surgery.

“I was discharged two days later and went back to practising qigong six months later,” he said.

Prof Cheng said the system was therefore about providing “the highest-level care at a fraction of its cost, especially for subsidised patients”.

In the United States, a robotic procedure costs US$30,000 to US$40,000 ($41,900 to $55,900); here, after Medisave deduction, an operation will cost less than $10,000, Prof Cheng said.

The hospital declined to say how much the dual-console system cost, but said its price included the cost of training, maintenance and other consumables. It did say, however, that it cost more than the $2.4 million paid for the 2002 model.