Robots upgrade surgery quality for Vietnamese

Doctors of Bình Dân Hospital perform robotic surgery. — Photo Courtesy of the Binh Dan Hospital

“When I was told that I would receive robotic surgery, I felt very secure. Advanced technology and qualified doctors helped make the surgery better,” she said.

Another initial patient benefiting from robotic surgery at the hospital were from the central province of Quang Ngai. He suffered from a colorectal tumour for many years. The robotic surgery was performed to remove the tumour on November 22.

All of the first ten patients were provided free surgery.

Dr Tran Vinh Hung, the Binh Dan Hospital’s head, said that the hospital started to use robots to assist its doctors to perform surgeries among adult patients last month in order to improve quality and reduce the number of Vietnamese patients going overseas for examination and treatment.

“Not only well-off patients but also those who cannot afford get benefits from the advanced techniques at the hospital,” he added.

The hospital is suggesting that the Ministry of Health approve the advanced technology in the list of insurance covered medical techniques.

It is providing free surgery to first 40 patients, Hung said.

“The robotic surgery helps solve limitations of traditional open surgery,” he said, adding that it brings minimal invasion, less bleeding and helps reduce the risk of fatality during surgery.

Moreover, robots help enable surgeons to operate precisely.

Through a magnified 3D high-definition vision system, surgeons can better control surgery and direct the robot’s hands to bend and rotate 540 degrees, far more than a human hand.

At the hospital, the robotic surgery is performed for cancers of the stomach, colon/rectum, liver, pancreas, lung, prostate, and eight other diseases. 

In the country, the National Hospital of Paediatrics in Hanoi performed the robotic surgery among children patients in 2014.

Robots have been used to assist laparoscopic surgery in many countries in the world, such as the US, Japan, and Korea, since 1980.

According to Dr Vu Le Chuyen, chairman of Vietnam Urology and Nephrology Association, in the urology field, robotic assistance is very necessary to perform surgery on the prostate and bladder, which are difficult for surgeons to access.

Professor Le Quang Nghia, chairman of HCM City Gastrointestinal Surgery Society, said that this is a higher level of the laparoscopic surgery, bringing large benefits for patients.

Hung said that the hospital aims to becoming a training centre for robotic surgery in the country and region.

The chairman of city People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said that the city always encourages hospitals to apply advanced technologies.

The Binh Dan Hospital should train using robots to assist surgery for doctors from other hospitals in the city in order to increase the number of patients benefiting from the advanced technology, Phong said.

“Using robots in surgery is one of the first steps to help the city to reach the goal of becoming a smart city,” he added.