Innovative robot technology brings a world first to Maria Middelares

Intuitive's new da Vinci SP (single port) robot aligns perfectly within Maria Middelares' goal of building a patient-centric robotics platform. The SP robot enables more complex procedures through a single incision or a natural body opening. Publications demonstrate the safety, efficacy and excellent results of this innovative technology. Meanwhile, the SP demonstrates its significant practical value
at Maria Middelares.

After the initial training period, urologists Dr De Kuyper and Prof Decaestecker used the new SP robot on Tuesday 22 May for the first time on patients for a kidney tumour removal.

‘With the SP robot, we can further enhance the advantages of the previous Da Vinci robots. Thanks to the updated minimal access technique, with only a single incision, we can reach and treat organs deeper in the body, such as the kidney or prostate, more smoothly. This single incision minimises the impact on the patient and promotes faster post-operative recovery time. We are pleased to report that the first operations have been carried out successfully.’

Dr Peter De Kuyper

'The team at Maria Middelares can count on years of robotic experience (including some 2,500 robot-assisted kidney and prostate operations). We are also very grateful for the guidance we received during our first operations from Prof Richard Link (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas) and Prof Dr Simone Crivellaro (University of Illinois, Chicago). We also thank Intuitive Surgical Inc (Sunnyvale, CA, USA) for collaboration, and, in particular, Louis Ryckembush for support with the innovation lab. This allows us to safely take our own expertise to an ever-higher level for the benefit of patients.'

Prof Karel Decaestecker

On 27 May, urologist Prof Dr Decaestecker achieved a world first by performing an autotransplantation of the kidney using the SP robot for the first time. This procedure, conducted entirely within the body, was carried out on a young woman (18 years old) with Raynaud's disease, who had previously suffered severe damage to the ureter between the kidney and bladder. The best solution for the young patient appeared to be bridging the large defect in the ureter by relocating the kidney (closer to the bladder). This is called an autotransplantation.

The transplant took place entirely inside the body. Prof Decaestecker has fully mastered this technique. He has been performing such operations since 2017 (a European first, at the time) using the Da Vinci Multiport robot, which has four robotic arms. The advantage of surgery inside the body is that no large incision needs to be made to insert and remove the kidney, and only 6-8 small incisions (with the multiport) of about 1 cm are needed to insert the (robotic) instruments.

'What is new is the combination of the transplantation inside the body with the fact that, thanks to the SP robot with only one robotic arm, there is only one incision instead of eight. This reduces the overall impact and it is expected to make the recovery smoother. An additional advantage is that we can perform the procedure completely outside the abdomen, and the patient can remain lying flat on his or her back in a natural position. With the Multiport, the robotic arms had to be positioned along the stomach and intestines, which meant the patient was operated on in a much less comfortable position, which increased the risk of intestinal complications.'

Prof Karel Decaestecker

Within the framework of the new Health Value Space Ghent, Maria Middelares is evolving into a 'smart' hospital — a forward-thinking organisation ready for the future of healthcare. With the development of a robotics platform, Maria Middelares aims to streamline the use of robots throughout the organisation. Robots are proving their usefulness for different types of procedures, both for soft tissue surgery and orthopaedic procedures. In addition to the SP robot, the Multiport (MP) robot continues to play an important role. Whereas the SP will mainly be used for kidney and prostate surgeries, the MP remains especially important for bladder surgeries, among others.

'In our organisation, we fully embrace the best technology combined with comprehensive follow-up. We use (big) data analysis based on a variety of consistent data to map the quality of care. This allows us not only to define areas for improvement but also to continually optimise our care. Delivering value-based healthcare is our main driver.’

Chief Innovation Officer Dr Ameye