State-of-the-art robotic surgical system to be used at Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital

It’s a first for Saskatchewan.

By this fall, a $2.5-million, state-of-the-art robotic surgical system should be ready for use at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

Called the “Da Vinci” surgical system, it will eventually be used in urology, head and neck cancer, thoracic and gynecological surgeries.

A presentation at the University of Saskatchewan’s Health Sciences Centre on Monday included the province’s head of surgery, Dr. Ivar Mendez, who explained specially trained surgeons would use their hands to move three robotic “arms” remotely.

“They allow us to perform what we call minimally invasive procedures … What they do is they decrease the trauma (and) the size of the incisions when we’re operating on patients,” he said.

During a traditional surgery, Mendez said the doctor is on top of the patient, and if they want to reach a certain area, they have to make much larger cuts through muscle and other tissue. That in turn makes recovery times longer.

With robotic systems, the large incisions aren’t necessary.

“The slender arms of the robot … can actually go inside the body through a small puncture wound and they go into tight spaces within the cavities of the body and allow us to perform these operations with minimal trauma,” Mendez said.

Less trauma means a shorter hospital stay, freeing up space for other patients. And there are other benefits.

“Of course the robot doesn’t have any tremors and (it) doesn’t tire,” Mendez added.

It’s not clear at this point, though, how much the new system could cut down surgical wait times.

Around 35,000 people in Saskatchewan are currently waiting for surgery. The provincial government has pledged to eliminate that backlog over the next three years.

Saskatoon philanthropist Merlis Belsher and his family donated $1 million, plus another $100,000 matched gift for the new robotic system. The robot itself will be named “Daryl,” after Belsher’s late son.

Another $1 million is coming from the provincial government, along with yearly operating costs. St. Paul’s Hospital still needs to fundraise another $400,000.