The University Hospital Brussels (UZ Brussel) is the first hospital in the Benelux region to deploy a microsurgery robot, which makes operations up to 20 times more accurate.
Used for surgical operations that require special accuracy, the microsurgery robot using the Symani robotic system helps reduce the risk of damage and enables faster recovery for patients, according to a statement from the hospital, which is the first in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg (Benelux) to successfully perform robot-assisted super microsurgery.
"This technology is an important step for the evolution of super microsurgery to help more patients through better, refined and reliable techniques," said Professor Moustapha Hamdi, head of the Department of Plastic Surgery.
He added that the use of the robot puts the hospital in "an important leadership role for this global and innovative research."
The Symani robotic system in the operating room. Credit: UZ Brussel
Resembling a pair of robotic arms linked to a surgical microscope, the system follows the doctor's movements and performs them with up to 20 times more precision using micro-instruments. This filters out even minimal vibrations from the surgeon's hand.
Led by Hamdi, the team used the robot when performing the first lymphatic bypass on a patient with lymphoedema after breast cancer in the arm.
The operated vessels had a diameter of 0.4 mm, making this an operative procedure that requires extreme precision from the surgeon, as it usually involves reconnecting the finest anatomical structures such as blood vessels, nerves or lymphatic vessels.
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UZ Brussel noted it has started further scientific research to follow up on the possibilities of this robot for super microsurgery.
"This technology is an important step for the evolution of super microsurgery with the objective to help more patients through better, refined and reliable techniques," said Prof Dr Hamdi.
