National Taiwan University Hospital said yesterday it had successfully implanted a living donor kidney using the da Vinci surgical robot, touting it as the first successful use of the procedure in Asia.
“The surgery can be seen as a landmark for organ transplants,” hospital vice superintendent Lin Ming-tsan (林明燦) said at a press conference.
Compared with traditional surgery, robotic-assisted surgery is minimally invasive and can offer patients the benefits of rapid recovery and a small incision, said Tsai Meng-kun (蔡孟昆), the doctor who performed the surgery.
The da Vinci system is an innovative machine used to mirror the movement of the surgeon’s hands using two controller sticks. The system offers features such as high-definition 3D vision and magnified views.
On July 27, a kidney was removed from a 51-year-old man via laparoscopy. It was later transplanted into his 60-year-old sister using the robotic technique. The woman recovered well and was scheduled to be discharged yesterday.
“The operation went smoothly,” Tsai said, showing a video of the procedure.
He said the robotics technology not only lowers the risk of complications for patients, but also enables surgeons to perform with increased precision without leaving large scars.
Whereas open surgery leaves a 15 to 20cm scar on the abdomen, the incision on the organ recipient is estimated at just 9cm, he added.
“This is no simple task,” said Lai Hong-shiee (賴鴻緒), director of the hospital’s surgery department, quoting comments from surgeons in South Korea and Hong Kong.
“We believe this is the first robotic-assisted kidney transplant surgery to be carried out in Asia,” he said.
The hospital has completed 149 other operations using the da Vinci equipment in the past six months.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
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