In Britain, a team of surgeons has operated on a child with the help of robots for the first time, in the hope that this new practice may become more common.
With unmatched precision, advanced medical robots are now paving the way for the possibility of performing surgeries on children and adults.
The surgeon who directs the intervention is neither near the patient nor near the table with the surgical equipment.
But robotic arms perform delicate surgery on the patient's urinary tract.
The robotic arms do most of the work, while the lead surgeon uses levers to control and direct them.
Robot-assisted surgery is becoming more and more common in healthcare practices in Britain.
London's Guy's and St Thomas's Foundation announced in 2023 that all prostate, kidney and lung cancer operations were performed robotically, with over 10,000 procedures performed with the help of robots over the past 20 years.
Southampton Children's Hospital in England is carrying out the first UK trial of an innovative device called the Versius Robotic Surgical System.
The new robot has advanced precision and maneuverability that makes it possible to use in younger patients.
After a series of successful trials in adults, 7-year-old Reece is the first child in the country to be operated on with the device.
He underwent checks in hospital after an incident in a park.
His mother, Elizabeth Wilton, says that “He underwent tests and at first nothing was found after the incident, but then scans revealed that he had a problem between the kidneys and the bladder, with the connecting tube, it wasn't quite right.”
Initially, the family was shocked when they learned that the surgical intervention for this health problem would be performed with the help of a robot.
The 7-year-old's father, Ashley Wilton, says that “when I first heard that it would be a robot that would operate on it, I had my doubts… But when you get more information and learn that the robot is controlled by a doctor, then everything becomes much more understandable.”
The surgeon who performed the procedure is Ewan Brownlee, who is a pediatric urologist at Southampton University Hospital. Traditional surgery for this intervention carries some complications, he explains.
While the robotic arms used in this procedure have such a range of motion that it makes it possible for fairly small surgical instruments to perform complicated operations on children.
After tests for almost 3 years, a historic moment has been reached, the operation of a child.
The robot-assisted device, developed by Cambridge-based CMR Surgical Ltd, aims to achieve a precision unattainable by humans through the use of tiny surgical instruments, robot control, and a magnified 1080p display. up.
“The intervention is controlled by the surgeon, anyway. It looks like robotic assistance is automated, but it's actually controlled by the surgeon,” says surgeon Ewan Brownlee.
Surgeons hope to see robotic-assisted pediatric surgery become common practice around the world.
After the operation, Reece tells his mother, Elizabeth, that he feels fine.
“He's been a bit shaky, worried as anyone would be, especially at his age, but he's done really well. It's just getting back to normal.”she explains.
Reece was released from the hospital after surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
