The clinic / Technology

Surgery with Robot Da Vinci

The Da Vinci Robot is a robotic platform that makes it easier for the surgeon to perform complex and delicate surgeries with minimal invasion and greater precision. It is the most advanced system that exists nowadays, and it has been designed to facilitate the surgeon’s work.

The Robot really “does not know how to operate”, and it is the surgeon who performs the surgery. The Da Vinci Robot does not operate alone, but is an instrument that facilitates the work of the surgeon. In order to perform obesity surgery with the Da Vinci Robot, it is necessary to have a specific training, and in addition the surgeon to have previously, extensive experience in obesity surgery by laparoscopy.

It is the latest technology in surgery, and it will probably be the future once it is fully developed.

It is a “Robot” that by means of a very complex software, that recognizes the movements that the surgeon makes with the controls (one in each hand and others in the feet).

The Da Vinci Robot allows:

  • Greater safety and technical stability in surgery.
  • Lower rate of possible errors.
  • Possibility of applying manual sutures safely.
  • Less learning curve and therefore more safety for junior surgeons.
  • Facilitates the application of Fast Track protocols.

Currently it only compensates its use, for the Bypass surgery.

Clínica Obésitas / Hospital San Rafael, we are the first private centre where robotic obesity surgery is performed (with Robot Da Vinci), until now, only limited to a few public hospitals in Spain.

Benefits of interventions with Robot Da Vinci:

  • The main advantage, as well as minimizing the surgeon’s fatigue, is that the surgeon can reproduce movements with the instruments, equal or greater even than if he were operating with the abdomen open and under direct vision. This is not achieved with the current laparoscopic surgery, so surgeons need very long learning curves, with some risk to the patient during the process.
  • It makes suturing, knotting and reconstruction procedures easier and safer.
  • It provides magnification and 3D HD image, which facilitates maximum precision and stability.
  • By means of a fluorescence system, it allows to distinguish the vascularization of the tissues, guiding the surgeon in case of doubts.
  • It allows a movement of the forceps inside the patient, totally natural and intuitive; the possible trembling of the hands disappears. As a whole, it facilitates almost perfect technical execution.
  • It could reduce the learning curve of an obesity surgeon (good technical results with less experience and training), due to the facilities provided by the Robot.

Other Potential Benefits of Da Vinci Robot Interventions

Some teams talk about other possible advantages of the Da Vinci Robot, which are not found in leading clinics such as ours, specialized in laparoscopy and mini-invasive anesthesia, and with the development of fast-truk protocols.
Even so, there is always room for further optimisation:

  • Less blood loss.
  • Less risk of infection.
  • Shorter hospital stay.
  • Faster recovery.
  • Faster return to normal life.

What obesity operations are recommended to be performed with Robot Da Vinci

  • The Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass.
  • The Bypass type SADIS.
  • It is not recommended because of its cost for other less complex surgeries such as the Gastric Tube or Sleeve and the Gastric Plication, where there are no joints between intestines.