Latest Robotic Surgical System Arrives at Brisbane's Wesley Hospital

Brisbane's Wesley Hospital is the first hospital in Australia to obtain the fourth, and newest generation of robotic surgical system the Xi da Vinci.
Created by Intuitive Surgical, the Xi is designed to replace the third generation robot and make surgery less invasive for patients with complex cancers and disease.
Wesley Hospital Medical Services Director Dr Luis Prado said the Wesley is very excited to be the first hospital in the nation to have acquired the technology.
“It will enable our specialists to advance minimally invasive surgical options for patients with diseases and conditions in the areas of urology, gynaecology, colorectal, thoracic, cardiac and general surgery," Dr Prado said.
The hospital's urologist and robotic surgeon Dr Geoff Coughlin, who was trained to use the robot at Intuitive Surgical's US laboratory, said it gave surgeons a greater range of motion, increased dexterity and precision, extended instrument reach, and improved high-definition 3D vision inside the body, courtesy of a new endoscope and digital camera system.
“The technology advances in this new robot offer key versatility,” Dr Coughlin said.
“The new overhead arm architecture and arm joints give greater access to areas of the abdomen, pelvis and chest from multiple directions. This allows what we call multi-quadrant surgery.
“There are complex surgeries, particularly to treat cancers, which are difficult to do other than as traditional open procedures through a large incision. The Xi robot means these may now be done as minimally invasive surgeries through several small incisions, which offers substantial benefit to patients – less blood loss, less pain, shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery and return to regular activity.”
Since 2010, more than 2000 robot-assisted surgeries have been performed by surgeons at the Wesley, including a host of surgical robotic firsts, like liver resection for cancer, hiatus hernia repair, and radical portal lymph node dissection.
The Xi has been used successfully in the United States since April, and the first surgeries using the new robot in Australia will occur later this month.