The London Health Sciences Centre has been chosen as an exclusive training location for robotic surgery in Canada.
In a press release, LHSC President and CEO Bonnie Adamson said “Earning the designation as Canada’s sole training centre for robotic surgery is a tremendous honour for LHSC and reinforces our position as a world-class centre for surgical innovation and research.”
Intuitive Surgical Inc., which manufactures the ‘da Vinci Surgical System,’ the most widely used surgical robot, made the announcement on Wednesday.
The training centre will be an integral part of the LHSC’s Canadian Surgical Technologies and AdvancedRobotics (CSTAR) program.
The CSTAR program is known for pioneering research and development of robotic surgical technologies and expertise in simulation training.
Adamson added “Most importantly, as a result of this training, patients from coast to coast will have more access to minimally invasive procedures, which inevitably will lead to better patient outcomes.”
The LHSC recently added two ‘da Vinci Si’ systems, which it says allows even complex surgeries like heart valve and cancer surgeries to be performed through a two centimetre incision.
Dr. Christopher Schlachta, medical director of CSTAR, believes the systems will allow the hospital to expand robotic surgery into new areas, such as thoracic, transplant and paediatric surgery.
“It is critical that CSTAR continues to pioneer innovations in medical technology and apply them at the bedside to ensure patients are receiving the highest quality care we can provide,” he said in a media release.
Part of the ongoing work will include an evaluation of the effectiveness of robotic technology in surgery.
More to come on the CTV News at 6.
