Ferenc Jakab needed heart surgeryAnd a robot was called in the action.
Ontario’s 60 -year -old resident has been monitoring a heart murmur for over 20 years, checking with his doctor every two years. During a recent visit, the news changed: it was time for surgery at St. Michael hospital in Toronto.
Jakab was healthy, active and without symptoms, working regularly and even Djing on the side. But doctors have warned that the condition could be more risky with age, so they made the call to repair the murmur now.
“They said it was time because you look good, you are 60 years old, without other problems, so you should do this surgery when you are strong and it’s easier to recover,” he told Global News. “And I said to them,” Why not? ” Let’s go. »»
After hearing this news, he and his wife joked the way surgery could take place.
“We were talking about the approach and I said,” Hey, maybe they will use robots, “he said, laughing.
“And the next day, I am at work, and the phone rings (and the doctor) says:” You are a candidate for robotic surgery. “”
Before surgery, Jakab (right) estimated that he was in great shape and healthy, remaining active, working regularly and even by DJ on the side.
Ferenc Jakab
JAKAB spent the night looking for robotic surgery – a technique that is gaining ground quickly in Canada while more and more hospitals are starting to use it for procedures like exposed to hips and knees,, vertebral operations and hysterectomies.
The call? Robotic surgery often means Smaller incisions, less pain, a lower risk of infection and much faster recovery.
But there was only a small catch in this procedure – Jakab would be the first patient in the region of the Grand Toronto to undergo robotic cardiac surgery. However, he was not too worried and said the advantages prevail over the risks.
“The name of the robot is da Vinci. The future is full of robots now, so I said:” Why not? “”
On March 26, Da Vinci Le Robot, as well as a team of heart surgeons formed, nurses and anesthesiologists, carried out the revolutionary procedure – marking the first robotic cardiac surgery of the genus in the Grand Toronto region, and one of only five carried out across Canada.
How does robotic surgery work?
Some could imagine robotic surgery as a single robot working alone, but it is far from reality, said Dr. Bobby Yanagawa, heart surgeon and head of the cardiac surgery in St. Michael’s hospital.
“It is the surgeon who really controls the robot’s hands,” he said.
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“It is therefore in a robotic console, there are nursing teams who are alongside the patient, ready to intervene and also to help. There are anesthesia colleagues who are head of the table, protecting the patient during the operation. ”
So, with a whole team involved, what is the point of using the robot in the first place?
The advantage of the robot is that his instruments are much smaller than the hands of a surgeon, said Yanagawa.
Da Vinci Le Robot helps the surgical team, including nurses and anesthesiologists, in carrying out cardiac surgery.
Katie Cooper, Unity Health Toronto
Robotic surgery, he said, allows much smaller incisions compared to traditional methods. Although a larger incision is generally necessary to access certain areas, the robot accuracy instruments can go through tiny openings.
Consequently, after procedures such as robotic mitral surgery, the incisions are so small that, even a year later, it is often difficult to say that the person has undergone surgery, he added.
A study in 2023 published in the Journal of Thoracic Disease I looked at how robot assisted cardiac surgeries using the Da Vinci system accumulates against the traditional open heart approach. They found that patients who had robotic procedures generally spent less time in intensive care and left the hospital earlier. Overall, their recovery results were better.
The researchers also noted that even if the Da Vinci system is both safe and effective, it takes a certain time and training for surgeons to take it.
“Robotic surgery can be considered the ultimate in cardiac surgery. And I say that because it is necessary to be very comfortable with the type of surgery we do, mitral surgery, by large open sternotomy. And that takes a few hundred cases (of practice),” said Yanagawa.
Although robotic surgery offers significant advantages, it still asks surgeons highly qualified to exploit it. This is where Dr. Daniel Burns and Dr. John Luigi Bisleri, the two heart surgeons who worked on Jakab’s heart, enter.
A surgeon controls the console robotic system, guiding the robot by cardiac surgery.
Katie Cooper, Unity Health Toronto
Bisleri, heart surgeon and director of mini-invasive cardiac surgery at St. Michael hospital, helped perform robotic surgery. He said robotic surgery is a crucial tool in continuous efforts to minimize patient trauma and improve recovery times.
“The real enormous impact is early postoperative recovery compared to patients undergoing conventional surgery, and can also return more quickly to routine activity,” he said.
Burns, a heart surgeon at St. Michael’s hospital and a clinician-scientist investigating injury and organ repair, said that there were major advantages to the robot, such as better dexterity and clearer visualization compared to the traditional approach.
“One of the common criticism (robotic surgery) is the lack of tactile feedback; I don’t feel what I do. And it may be that I grow as a video player, but I found that an obstacle very easy to erase,” he said.
Close -up of the robotic console, where the surgeon controls the precise food movements of the robot during surgery.
Katie Cooper, Unity Health Toronto
Jakab said he woke up after surgery with just a little pain. The first two nights were rough, mainly because of the tubes and rear and neck pain, but once the IV came out, it started to feel much better. From there, things continued to improve.
Its operation was a success, with a perfect valve repair and no residual leaks. He was released the third day after the operation.
Patients generally recover faster after robotic cardiac surgery because instead of cutting the maternal, the robot allows surgeons accessing the heart by small openings between the coasts, Yanagawa said. This makes recovery potentially much faster.
He said that patients could be back on foot in just a week or two – a jump to a good jump from the usual three to four months necessary to recover from a traditional sternotomy.
After his experience in robotic surgery, Jakab said he would recommend him to anyone who had the opportunity.
Global News
“When we got home, I said to my wife, I can’t believe it, we are already at home. And I’m not 100%, but I feel good,” said Jakab.
Jakab had such a positive experience that he has advice to anyone who plans robotic surgery.
“Do it.
Robotic surgery is still relatively rare in Canada, according to a study in 2022 published in the Canadian Surgery Journal.
At the time of the study, 30 surgical robots operated in 14 cities, carrying out around 6,000 procedures each year.
The study also noted that Robot assisted surgery is not funded by the Canadian Public Health Care system and depends on philanthropic and research – a key factor limiting wider access.
But surgeons like Bislari believe that we are only scratching the surface of what robotic surgery can do.
“I think it will be an incredible and powerful tool that will continue to push our ability to radically change the way we treat heart disease,” he said. “And I think we will now see an exponential growth of these procedures and new innovations that will continue to have an impact on patient care.”
Da Vinci Le Robot helps the surgical team, including nurses and anesthesiologists, in carrying out cardiac surgery.
Katie Cooper, Unity Health Toronto
Yanagawa accepted.
Although it is difficult to predict the future, he said, he always wants to be part of it.
“We want to be part of the company and we want to be part of the Department of Change,” he said.
“The truth is that in Canada, and really in the world, probably a lot, much less than one percent of cardiac surgery is done in a robotic way. And if that becomes five, 10, 20, 25%, then we do not want to be left behind. We want to be at the front. “