Introduction of “da Vinci Si”, a robot for assisting surgery, for the first time in Fukui Prefecture to provide safer treatment that reduces burdens

In the autumn of 2013, University of Fukui Hospital introduced “da Vinci Si”, a robot for assisting surgery made in the U.S.A., for the first time in Fukui Prefecture, and the first surgery using the robot was conducted in the first week of December of the same year. In surgery using “da Vinci”, each of its four arms is inserted into small ports made in the abdominal area of a patient, and surgical instruments (forceps and electric surgical knives) attached to the tips of the arms are remotely controlled. An endoscope is attached to each arm, and surgeons manipulate the surgical instruments using a controller and foot pedal while watching a clear and enlarged 3D image of the surgical field on a monitor. The movements of surgical instruments are smooth and mimic those of the hands. Furthermore, the ranges of motion of those instruments are wide and they can be moved in a more complex way than the hands of a person, and, as a result, surgery can be conducted in a safer and more accurate manner. The robot system even allows surgeons to perform nerve-sparing surgery and suturation, which could not be conducted in conventional laparoscopic surgery, relatively easily. As its marked advantage, the burden on the body of a patient is reduced because surgery using the robot system requires no laparotomy and a much shorter period, and minimizes the amount of bleeding.