Robotic Surgery Improves Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer

A new surgical procedure which uses robotic surgery offers improved accuracy for surgeons, reduced post-operative pain for patients, and lessens the scarring, breathing problems, and damage to speech associated with treating head and neck cancers.

Researchers at the at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB; Birmingham, AL, USA) adapted the da Vinci robotic surgery system--originally designed for operating on the lower and middle sections of the body--to the narrow spaces inside the head and neck by modifying operating techniques and robot-arm positions. The increased surgical accuracy needed was achieved by the use of tiny cameras attached to the end of the da Vinci instruments. The magnified, three dimensional (3D) image gives doctors a greater field of vision than conventional open or laparoscopic surgery. Over 40 UAB patients have benefited from the new operation so far.

"This application takes robotic surgery to new places in the body,” said William Carroll, M.D., a head and neck surgeon at the UAB comprehensive cancer center. "There is an option for patients to have a more minimally invasive surgery, and one that could effectively remove the cancer while causing fewer side effects.”

The da Vinci System is a sophisticated robotic platform designed to expand the surgeon's capabilities by offering a minimally invasive option for major surgery. The system uses small incisions to introduce miniaturized wristed instruments and a high-definition 3D camera. The surgeon is seated at a control console, where he can view a high-resolution 3D image of the surgical site. At the same time, robotic and computer technologies scale, filter, and seamlessly translate the surgeon's hand movements into precise micro-movements of the da Vinci instruments. The system cannot be programmed, nor can it make decisions on its own. Rather, the da Vinci System requires that every surgical maneuver be performed with direct input from the surgeon. The da Vinci robotic surgery system was developed by Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, CA, USA).


Related Links:
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Intuitive Surgical