Focus on robot-assisted surgery

Robot-assisted operations with the daVinci® system
The performance of minimally invasive and robot-assisted operations is a long-established and integral part of our range of treatments. The DaVinci® surgical system from Intuitive Surgical is available for this purpose. It consists of a console that is operated by the surgeon and transmits their movements to the surgical instruments. The instruments are inserted into the body via small incisions in the skin (keyhole technique). The surgeon's hand and finger movements are transmitted directly to the surgical instruments via the console. With the help of a 3D image of the surgical field magnified approx. 10 times and a translation of the hand movements up to 5 times, movements can be carried out with millimetre precision. This allows us to recognise and preserve the finest tissue structures, which enables very precise surgery. The system is not a "robot" that operates uncontrolled and independently, but a high-precision instrument that is only operated by the surgeon.
The DaVinci® surgical system is used in our clinic primarily for the complete removal of the prostate in the case of prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy) and for the partial removal of the kidney due to various forms of kidney and ureteral cancer (organ-preserving kidney tumour removal; kidney and ureter removal) as well as for the operation of ureteral obstructions (pyeloplasty).

Robotic-assisted keyhole surgery has been established in our clinic for many years. Under the leadership of Clinic Director Prof Bolenz, our team has already performed over 600 operations with the DaVinci® system in the last 4 years, which means that we have extensive experience with this modern surgical technique.

The system is not generally advantageous for all operations. Whether the use of the DaVinci® surgical system makes sense for you depends, among other things, on the type and extent of the disease as well as other individual factors. We will be happy to advise you on the possible advantages of the procedure and draw up a treatment plan for you. See here a recent interview with Prof Bolenz about surgical methods for prostate cancer. You can read more answers to frequently asked patient questions in Prof Bolenz's interview here.