Hong Kong doctors perform world-first cancer surgery using robot and microwaves to remove tumours spread to lungs
- Procedure involves inserting a microwave-emitting instrument into a patient’s lungs with the help of robot
- Patients can return to work or their normal lives quickly and have reduced risk of complications
Doctors from a Hong Kong university have carried out the world’s first surgical procedure combining a robot and microwaves to remove tumours that had spread to a cancer patient’s lungs, reducing the harm traditional operations could have caused.
The procedure, said to have been conducted for the first time globally by doctors at Chinese University’s teaching hospital, has been used on three patients in the city and is expected to benefit more than 100 locally.
The surgery, which involves inserting a microwave-emitting instrument into a patient’s lungs with the help of a robot, was carried out at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin.
“This technology, as you see today, really is about accurate navigation using a robotic bronchoscope to go to different lung metastases, [where] we can treat many of them at the same time without puncturing the lungs, without bleeding, without creating complications,” said Professor Calvin Ng Sze-hang from Chinese University.
Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from one part of the body to another, with the lungs being one of the most commonly affected areas. A bronchoscope is a device used to inspect the inside of a person’s lungs and airways.