Cape Town - Three years after the inception of the world renowned technology, da Vinci Xi robotic surgery was introduced at two public hospitals in the Western Cape, they have successfully managed to carry out 649 surgeries, alleviating the backlog due to Covid-19.
In the 2021 financial year report for provincial Health, MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said that an additional R20 million was allocated through the internal prioritisation of funds and R80m to the procurement of two surgical robots, which assisted with surgical backlogs in the province.
The surgical robots are based at Groote Schuur and Tygerberg Hospital.
The Robotic Surgery Indaba took place this week showcasing the pioneering work of surgeries with 10-12 procedures across various disciplines, including urology, colorectal, hernia and gynaecological surgeries.
The operations were aimed to provide cutting-edge, minimally invasive surgical care to patients while enhancing the skills and experience of our surgeons.
In 2022, the provincial health department and parliament portfolio committee revealed there were 175 000 surgical backlogs in the country and the Western Cape led with 77 139 backlog in surgeries.
The Western Cape Health Department said this week that the robotic surgeries helped offer high-end modern medicine to public hospital patients and there were other projects focusing on Covid-19 backlogs.
Byron la Hoe, of the provincial Health Department said the hospitals had made a success of the surgeries, with over 600 procedures.
“At Groote Schuur Hospital, we have performed a total of 230 cases on the robotic system, and a total of 419 at Tygerberg Hospital since February 2022,” he said.
La Hoe added that currently there were still only two devices in the public sector with 11 in private hospitals in South Africa.
La Hoe said 10 surgeons were trained at Groote Schuur Hospital across specialities which includes urology, gynaecology, colorectal and hernia surgery, while seven are currently permanently employed at the hospital.
At Tygerberg, four surgeons, three urologists and three gynaecologists, as well as 68 theatre staff are trained on robotic surgery.
La Hoe added that robotic surgeries worked well in “prostatectomies (removal of prostate for cancer) which is the most established procedure which benefit from a robotic system.
“Other pelvic surgeries including rectal cancer operations, hysterectomies, pelvic prolapse procedures and inguinal hernias are gaining ground. Ventral (front side of abdomen) hernia is also an operation where there is real benefit for this system.”
He explained the beneficial factors of robotic surgery included the reduction of time patients have to spend in hospital and returning earlier to work.
Professor Christo Kloppers, head of Acute Care Surgery and the Chair of Robotic Surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital told Weekend Argus that the surgery was the way of the future and that training and education was vital in their sector.
He added his most memorable surgery was an abdominal wall reconstruction including muscular flaps on both sides.
“Normally this operation would be performed with a 30cm incision, one week in hospital and at least six weeks of recovery,” he detailed.
“As we could perform the same case with only three 8mm incisions the patient's hospital stay was only two days with mobilisation from day one.
“There is no doubt that technology such as robotic surgery is the future, and this type of care should not be denied to public patients. Newer techniques do come with increased costs, more so in the earlier stages, and we often lose sight on how healthcare will look like in10 years.
“The development and training of progressive healthcare also belongs in our academic hospitals.”