Vietnam uses robot surgery for first time on kidney cancer patient
Doctors at Binh Dan Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City used a robot to assist surgery in late April to remove a cancerous tumour from a 70-year-old Vietnamese woman from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.
A doctor gives examination to the patient after the surgery at Binh Dan Hospital in HCM City (Photo courtesy of Binh Dan Hospital)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Doctors at Binh DanHospital in Ho Chi Minh City used a robot to assist surgery in late April toremove a cancerous tumour from a 70-year-old Vietnamese woman from the MekongDelta province of Tien Giang.
The tumour was removed by the retroperitonealroute because it avoided harm to her abdominal organs and reduced risks for gutparalysis.
The woman had previously had an ovariotomy andcholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), and surgery to remove her appendix and auterine fibroid. The patient also had diabetes and hepatitis C.
The hospital’s doctors spoke to the patient’srelatives about robot-assisted procedures as well as traditionally open andlaparoscopic surgeries. The family chose the robotic surgery because it was thebest solution to avoid complications since the doctors did not have to open theperitonaeum.
Surgery that uses robots is less invasive anduses smaller incisions than normal surgical methods. It reduces pain, bleeding,infections and the length of hospital stay.
With manoeuverable wrists rotating through 540degrees and a 3-D camera providing a view of healthy and suspicious tissues,the doctors were able to view kidney structures and more precisely operate andremove the cancerous tumour on her right kidney.
Dr Do Lenh Hung of the hospital, who performedthe two-hour surgery on April 23, said it was difficult surgery because of theneed to master the technique of using a robot.
The patient was discharged from the hospital andis currently recovering at home.
Kidney cancer is the ninth most commonlyoccurring cancer in men and the 14th most common cancer in women. There wereover 400,000 new cases in 2018, according to the non-profit organisation WorldCancer Research Fund International, a network of cancer prevention charitieswith a global reach.
The average age of patients when they arediagnosed is 64, according to the American Cancer Society. Kidney cancer isvery uncommon in people younger than age 45.
Overall, the lifetime risk for developing kidneycancer in men is about 1 in 48. The lifetime risk for women is 1 in 83.
The International Agency for Research onCancer’s 2018 GLOBOCAN report showed that Vietnam had 2,394 new incidences ofkidney cancer, including 1,326 deaths.-VNS/VNA
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A doctor gives examination to the patient after the surgery at Binh Dan Hospital in HCM City (Photo courtesy of Binh Dan Hospital) 
