The Da Vinci robot-assisted surgical system became operational at the Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen (UD) exactly one year ago. It reduces the risk of complications and shortens recovery time. The Clinical Centre acquired the robotic technology as a result of the university’s RRF educational development application, with the financial contribution of the Clinical Centre. Its acquisition is of the most significant technological advances in the history of the University of Debrecen.
Dezső Tóth, Director of the Department of Surgery of the UD Clinical Centre, highlighted at the opening of the symposium held on Monday that although it was declared in the 18th century that the surgical profession had reached a perfect level, at that time you could not even dream of robotic surgery.
“In terms of precision and safety, surgery has reached a historic milestone with the advent of robots. As a result, interventions can be performed from hundreds of kilometres away with the greatest possible safety. At the Department of Surgery of the University of Debrecen, the Da Vinci is primarily used for colon, stomach, liver and pancreas surgeries, and its great strength is its 3D vision and sophisticated movement”, said the director of the Department of Surgery and head of the Robotic Surgery Centre.
In his welcoming speech, György Balla, President of the Doctoral Committee of Medical Sciences and member of the Board of Trustees of Count István Tisza Foundation for the University of Debrecen, responsible for maintaining the university, said that the past year has proved that the University of Debrecen made a good decision and the Da Vinci is a positive example that serves patients, helps doctors, and puts Debrecen’s surgical care on the international map.
“The Department of Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Urology use the device to the same extent, and in one year a total of 368 complex surgeries were performed with it, of which the majority were oncological interventions. The world-class technology allows for the performance of even the most complex surgeries, which were previously difficult to perform. The success of the patient-friendly surgery program is tangible, and hopefully the first year is just the beginning”, the professor said.
Chancellor Zoltán Bács recalled that joint thinking to introduce robot-assisted technology began at the University of Debrecen at the end of 2021. Eventually, the institution decided to acquire the Da Vinci robot.
“The arrival of the technology in Debrecen was the result of several years of preparation and a thoroughly considered decision. The university has received an excellent tool that is efficient from an economic point of view, and excellent in terms of its technical condition, educational and medical usability. However, we are not stopping here, we would like to expand the system, for example, we would like to introduce robot-assisted technology in the field of orthopaedics as well. The system was brought to the university primarily as a teaching tool, which we use immensely during surgeries. Universities and medical training institutions are the most important defensive bastions of Hungarian healthcare, and the UD plays a key role in this”, the chancellor said.
In his welcoming speech, Norbert Németh, Deputy Dean for Education of the Faculty of Medicine, underlined that modern knowledge is built on traditional technologies, an excellent example of which is the robotic surgery system.
“The system primarily serves the interests of patients and the safety of surgeries with its impressive precision and tissue- and nerve-sparing technology, but it is also of paramount importance for training, as professionals can gain insight into how to integrate this knowledge into practical work, and simulator stations suitable for individual exercises are becoming more accessible as well. I hope that the device will increasingly be put at the service of students’ knowledge and preparation. Considering its capacity, it is a serious achievement that nearly two robotic surgical procedures were performed every working day, which is a competitive result in both domestic and international comparisons”, the deputy dean said.
At the symposium, Péter Torda, representative of Sofmedica, distributor of the Da Vinci system, informed the attendees about the history of robotic surgery. The role of robotic surgery in surgery, gynaecology, and urology was recounted by Dezső Tóth, Director of the Department of Surgery, Zoárd Krasznai, Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Tibor Flaskó, Director of the Department of Urology, respectively. In addition, the attendees heard presentations about the robotic surgery milestones achieved in visceral surgery, the results of assisted urological surgeries, and the anaesthesiologic experiences of the Debrecen robotic program.
Press Centre - BZ
