Lymphedema is a serious condition in which fluid builds up and causes swelling in lymphatic vessels. This happens most often as a side effect of cancer treatment breast. A relatively new and potentially more effective treatment for this disease is microsurgery in which lymphatic vessels are connected with blood vessels to restore fluid flow and relieve swelling. However, this procedure is particularly difficult and stressful to perform given the extreme precision required by the surgeon. Worldwide, only a few doctors are able to perform this surgical technique by hand.
In order to perform this microsurgery, plastic surgeons of the Maastricht University Medical Centerin the Netherlands used a robotic device. Such an intervention using a “robotic hand” is a world first.
A robot in the hands of a surgeon
Surgeons used the robotic device for suturing 0.3 to 0.8 millimeter vessels in the patient’s arm. This robot, created by the Eindhoven Microsure company, is controlled by a doctor whose hand movements turn into smaller, more precise movements which are then performed on the patient by a set of “robot hands”. The device also stabilizes any shaking in the surgeon’s movements, making the procedure more controlled and therefore easier to perform.
The Microsure robot is expected to improve a large number of microsurgical procedures and enable new interventions that are currently impossible to perform manually. This technique allows to give better results on complex and tiring operations. It will also help reduce health care costs due to a reduced rate of complications and lower postoperative treatment.
This technique opens the way to other types of microsurgical procedures such as the reconstitution of tissues after the removal of a tumor or the performance of complex surgeries on vessels.
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