State of the art surgical robotics system now in use at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon

Saskatchewan’s first, state -of -the -art surgical robotics system is now up and running at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

The $2.5 million dollar “da Vinci Surgical System” was first announced at the University of Saskatchewan last April after Philanthropist Merlis Belsher donated more than one-million dollars towards its purchase.

“Da Vinci” has so far been used in about two dozen surgeries, including prostate cancer surgery one month ago for Mark Turcotte, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last January.

“I’m still recovering slightly. I’m at the end of four weeks right now,” he said. “I have five holes plus my abdomen, four for the da Vinci robot, and one as a drain. Those were all healed, and I’m working with the scars right now to make sure they disappear.

“I’m probably 90 to 95 per cent of what I was before the surgery. Healthwise.”

Mark Turcotte underwent prostate cancer surgery four weeks ago.

Dr. Varun Bethini was instrumental in getting the surgical system to Saskatchewan, and he’s one of a select few who are trained to use it. He said there are a number of advantages to using the new robot, like being able to sit in a relaxed, comfortable position while he’s performing surgery, unlike when he’s performing laparoscopic surgery.

“You get a 3-D perspective. You actually feel like you’re in the body, operating. The fine movements and the ability to manipulate the instruments to have a full 360 degree motion allows you to suture and move your instruments in incredibly tight spaces you just simply could not do laparoscopically,” he explained.

He said it’s also minimally invasive, meaning patients end up spending less time in the hospital recovering, than they might otherwise.

“If we just look at our prostatectomy data…we’re looking at saving about a day per patient. So, that would be about 100 bed days saved alone on that operation alone.”

For other surgeries, it can be three to four days for each patient.

“In every case, the recovery period is much shorter,” he added. Bethini hoped Royal University Hospital would be next in line for a similar robotic system in the near future.

Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Andrew Will says the program will also allow them retain and recruit talented doctors and surgeons, along with other benefits.

“The establishment of this program and expertise in delivering will allow us to really see the full benefits of the program and have that ability to grow it over time,” he said.