Robotic Surgery Celebrates 17 Years at “Morgagni-Pierantoni” Hospital in Forlì
It has been 17 years since the introduction of robotic surgery at the “Morgagni-Pierantoni” hospital in Forlì. In 2007, the first surgical robot “Leonardo Da Vinci” came into operation, donated by the Carisp Foundation of Forlì. Since then, the robotic system has continued to evolve, with the recent arrival of the XI version of the Da Vinci in 2022.
The XI version of the Da Vinci allows for 3D vision with up to ten times magnification, ensuring high clarity and precision of details. This latest advancement marks the fourth generation of robot-assisted minimally invasive robotic surgery at the hospital.
Professor Giorgio Ercolani, the director of Surgery and Advanced Oncological Therapies at the “Morgagni-Pierantoni” hospital in Forlì and full professor of Surgery at the University of Bologna, stated, “Healthcare is certainly one of the sectors where technological development and related investments are most noticeable.”
The hospital has been a pioneer of robotic surgery since 2007, with the Da Vinci robot providing various surgical specialties with great experience in different sectors of use. The robot has been used for a variety of interventions, including urology, general surgery, thoracic surgery, ENT, and gynecology. The most common sectors of use are in urology, particularly for prostatectomies and partial nephrectomies, and in general surgery, particularly for oncological operations on the intestine, stomach, liver, and pancreas.
The benefits for patients undergoing robotic surgery are significant. Minimally invasive surgery allows for smaller surgical incisions, less post-operative pain, faster recovery, and lower percentages of complications, transfusions, and hospital stays.
Furthermore, the stress for surgeons is reduced with the robotic technique, and it allows for improvements in physical stress compared to laparoscopy. Although the main limitations to the diffusion of robotic surgery are currently the costs, there is optimism that over time, these difficulties will be reduced, and the technology will become more widely available.
In terms of training, Forlì has 14 surgeons trained in various specialties, with new applications such as robotic duodeno-cephalopancreasectomy and plans to implement robotic cystectomies.
As Professor Ercolani concludes, “Increasing the number of patients who can benefit from minimally invasive approaches improves the results of the therapy and often allows systemic adjuvant therapies to be started in a shorter time.” The hospital hopes to continue collaborating with all professional figures involved in the operating room to provide access to this technology to the greatest number of patients.