David Brill
Doctors in Canada have become the first in the world to successfully remove a brain tumor using robotic surgery – a procedure hailed as a “breakthrough.”
The team at The University of Calgary took 8 hours to remove a subfrontal meningioma from the brain of a 21-year-old woman using the neuroArm – a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-compatible system which is capable of extremely fine movements.
Dr. Garnette Sutherland, the team leader, said that the system had “exceptional capabilities.”
“This is a turning point in the performance and teaching of neurosurgery. neuroArm will improve surgical outcomes as it is less invasive and more delicate in its touch,” he said.
neuroArm combines real-time image guidance with the option to do MRI on demand, providing the operator with superior spatial orientation to that offered by earlier systems. Surgeons using the system can work at a resolution of 50 – 100 μm.
The arm, which can be used to perform both surgery and biopsies, is operated from an external room using a state-of-the-art control panel which offers tremor filtering and motion scaling.
Dr. Tang Kok Kee, a neurosurgeon at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre in Singapore, described the surgery as “a very good breakthrough.” He added that neuroArm offered good dexterity, and that the removal of operator tremors would allow for great precision.
The patient had a tumor of the olfactory groove which was affecting her sense of smell. She was discharged 2 days after the procedure.
Since completing its first operation neuroArm has continued to perform surgery, including the removal of a very deep-seated tumor located anterior to the brain stem.
“I suspect neuroArm and other robotic systems will have an increasing role to play not only in neurosurgery but in all surgical specialties,” said Sutherland.
No comments:
Post a Comment