August 17, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is extending the use of its surgical robot to assist in operating on women who have cancer of the reproductive tract. A handful of hospitals, including UAB, utilize the robots for urological surgery, but no others in Alabama have announced their use for cervical and other female cancers of the pelvic region.
Warner K. Huh, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, has successfully performed eight such surgeries since June with the assistance of a da Vinci surgical robot in UAB Hospital’s North Pavilion operating rooms.
“We have found the robot an effective tool for assisting us in the surgical removal of uterine and cervical cancers,” Huh said, who is in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “It has resulted in less pain for the patient, and a shorter hospital stay as well. This is definitely something that advances the treatment and care of women in the Deep South who require hysterectomies, hysterectomies with staging for endometrial cancers, and radical hysterectomies for early-stage cervical cancer.”
He said, “The da Vinci system fits well into our program of minimally-invasive techniques in the UAB Division of Gynecologic Oncology. Future uses of the robotic assistance would include some of the more challenging pelvic surgery cases, including benign conditions such as uterine fibroids, and potentially we would offer fertility-sparing surgery as well.”
Most of Huh’s robot-assisted surgeries have involved women with cervical cancer who required hysterectomies, either with or without removal of the ovaries. Previously, these surgeries would have been performed either with open incisions or with traditional laparoscopy. “The robot assists in a laparoscopic approach, but the field of vision for the surgeon presents in a three-dimensional view, a huge advantage over the two-dimensional view available with traditional laparoscopy,” he said.
The robot and its special technology provide improved dexterity and better visualization, he said. “It’s important to know that the robot is not performing the actual surgery. The surgeon makes the nickel-sized incisions and inserts the robotic laparoscope, camera and light, all of which are in constant control by the surgeon from a console in the same operating room. The surgeon places his hands in special, high-tech gloves, and using the 3-D visualization, manipulates the robot’s actions.”
“The da Vinci system gives the surgeon the 3-D look and the feel of an open operation without the large incision that previously was required for some of the major hysterectomy procedures,” he said. “In the end, it’s all about what’s best for the patient – often, they can go home within 24 hours and don’t require the narcotic pain medication necessary with open surgeries.” Not every woman with a gynecologic cancer is a candidate for the robot-assisted approach, Huh said. Consideration must be given to the potential patient’s weight, type and size of cancer, prior medical history and other factors, he said. UAB Hospital’s $1 million da Vinci system, designed by Intuitive Surgical, combines robotics and computer imaging. UAB purchased the equipment in 2001.