Robotic Pediatric Endoscopic Surgery

The National Children's Hospital is the first unit in the country and Southeast Asia to apply this technique.

In March 2014, the National Children's Hospital officially put into operation the "Pediatric Endoscopic Surgery Center" using robots. This is the first unit in the country and Southeast Asia to apply this technique. But how can robots perform operations on such young patients? The group of reporters Phuong Thao - Pham Trang had the opportunity to observe a surgery performed by doctors at the National Children's Hospital.

At Department A6, National Children's Hospital, doctors are preparing to perform surgery on Le Tuong Vi, a child in Ninh Hiep commune, Gia Lam district, Hanoi. Vy is 2 years old this year. According to the doctors' diagnosis, Vy has a choledochal cyst - a rather complicated disease that requires early treatment. The patient will undergo laparoscopic surgery to remove the cyst in the bile duct using a robot - the most modern technique currently in the field of pediatric endoscopy.

The surgery for baby Vy was performed by 2 anesthesiologists, 2 assistant surgeons and Dr. Pham Duy Hien - Deputy Head of the Department of Surgery, who performed the main surgery. Through the external control system, Dr. Hien will control the robotic arms to perform the surgery. Dr. Hien provides some information to help us visualize baby Tuong Vy's case more clearly.

The 2-year-old child was diagnosed with a choledochal cyst, with a history of abdominal pain, fever and jaundice. Surgical treatment was required to remove the choledochal cyst, the upper end close to the common hepatic duct, and the lower end close to the common pancreatic duct. This was a very complicated surgery, requiring the liver to be separated from the cystic artery and separated from the portal vein, which are dangerous parts that can cause bleeding if not handled carefully. We then had to reconnect the intestinal circulation. Laparoscopic surgery is always a big challenge for surgeons in general and pediatric surgeons in particular. Thanks to the robot, the surgery was very easy and gentle," said Dr. Hien.

Listening to Dr. Hien, it seems simple, but when we witnessed each robot control operation to precisely perform small cuts on the child patient, we ourselves felt stressed.

Up to now, there have been more than 50 cases of laparoscopic surgery using robots and none of them have had infections or complications. This robotic surgical system has many advantages compared to laparoscopic surgery. Firstly, the 3D vision system helps to see very clearly the anatomical structures as well as the blood vessels, so the surgery is very precise. In addition, the robot's wrist can operate at 540 degrees, with this surgical angle that no human wrist can reach, so it can get into small, narrow surgical fields with little trauma, as well as the patient will have less pain after surgery, less bleeding, very safe.

Vy's surgery lasted more than 3 hours and Dr. Pham Duy Hien informed the family that the surgery was successful.

The application of robotic endoscopic surgery technology at the National Children's Hospital has created conditions for children to enjoy achievements in modern medicine without having to go abroad. However, the current cost of such a surgery is quite high, from 50 to 80 million VND, so it is hoped that there will soon be adjustments to the health insurance policy so that more and more children can access high-tech services./.

According to VOV