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Timmy Au Wing-kuk (left), chief of service at Queen Mary’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, demonstrates the technology on a patient with medical staff. Photo: Jonathan Wong

How robotic arm technology can improve heart surgeries in Hong Kong

Doctors say procedure is less invasive with a mere 4cm incision to side of chest; number of heart operations set to increase with ageing population

In a first for Hong Kong’s public hospitals, surgeons at Queen Mary have applied robotic arm technology to heart surgeries, offering numerous benefits such as an almost invisible wound and a greatly reduced chance of complications.

Limited resources meant only one slot was available each month for the cutting-edge operation, but doctors hope the practice will gain prevalence in the future amid an ageing population.

The robotic technology is available in other public hospitals, but not used on heart surgeries.

Traditional open-heart surgeries involve cutting open the middle of the chest and the sternum with an incision as long as 25cm. Not only does the method leave a visible scar which takes up to 10 weeks to heal, movement will be limited, preventing patients from carrying any heavy load during recovery.

Consultant surgeon Daniel Chan Tai-leung revealed that apart from the slightly longer operation time, robotic arm surgery did not require additional resources or manpower.

“What’s worth noting is that the robotic arms were remote-controlled from another room, with the help of 3D cameras. The images are even better than that of a 3D movie,” he said.

Queen Mary has introduced robotic arm technology to 14 surgeries on the mitral valve – a vital channel in the heart involved in blood pressure and flow.

The procedure is done with remote-controlled robotic arms and 3D technology. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The minimally invasive technique only requires an opening of around 4cm to the side of the chest, lowering the chance of infection and complications. Only one patient encountered bleeding after the surgery.

Patients were on average discharged from hospital eight days after the surgery, meaning they could also return to work quickly.

Timmy Au Wing-kuk, chief of service at Queen Mary’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, said certain criteria had to be met for a patient to receive robotic arm surgery.

“If the patient is too old or in a rather weak condition … or if there are too many scars and incisions left by previous surgeries, then the procedure will become very difficult,” he explained.

Another major reason why the surgery cannot be performed more frequently – the machine can only be used for one day a month by the department because it is shared with other teams in obstetrics and urology.

Au expressed hope that more doctors could be trained in the future to apply the technique to different types of heart surgeries, which he predicted, would rise in number due to the rapidly ageing population.

“We hope to promote the technology so that more patients can benefit,” he added.

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