BUSINESS

da Vinci® Xi Robotic System

For Modern Mini-invasive Surgery Techniques

The Nový Jičín Hospital, a member of the AGEL group, the Centre of Highly Specialised Oncology

Treatment of Adults in Nový Jičín (Centrum vysoce specializované onkologické péče pro dospělé

Nový Jičín) provides training in robotic surgery to doctors from all over Europe. We have interviewed

Dr. Matej Škrovina, Ph.D., FEARCS, Chief of Surgery, expert guarantor of surgery at AGEL Group,

and proctor for robotic colorectal surgery.

Mr Škrovina, you have dedicated your life to surgery.

How did you get involved in robotic surgery in

particular? What attracts you to this specialization?

I wanted to become a surgeon since before my studies

of medicine at Comenius Universityin Martin. Having

graduated, and having finished the compulsory military

service, I started working in the surgery at the Hospital

and Health Centre (NsP) in Žilina in the spring of 1995.

That was one of the first health centres in Slovakia

to operate a laparoscopic set, which facilitated my

practical experience with mini-invasive surgeries even

during my very first surgeries. I had a great opportunity

to specialize in this surgical field and develop my

laparoscopic skills when I changed jobs: in 2003

I began working as a qualified surgeon at the Centre

of Vascular and Mini-invasive Surgery of Podlesí Hospital

in Třinec (Centrum cévní a miniinvazivní chirurgie

Nemocnice Podlesí a.s. v Třinci). This department has

been a famous pioneer and leader in laparoscopic

surgery in the Czech Republic. This is where I earned my

first experience with laparoscopic surgeries of cancer

of the large intestine and rectum. Growing interest

in this field of surgery made me change employers again

and I became the medical director of the colorectal

team at the Surgery Department at Nový Jičín Hospital

(Nemocnice Nový Jičín a.s.) in 2005.

In 2010, having finished certified training in Strasbourg,

I started robotic colorectal surgeries. The system da

Vinci® Standard used at those times had its limitations,

yet I saw robotized surgery as highly prospective and

very promising. I admit that since 2016 I have been

truly passionate about robotic surgery when our

department, as one of the first health centres in the

Czech Republic, obtained the fourth generation of the

da Vinci® Xi system installed. With further development

of the robotic system and new instrumentation, with

increasing experience, its implementation gets wider.

I am convinced that robotic surgery is the right direction

for surgery in general the near future, especially with

surgeries of particular diagnoses with a particular group

of patients.

You work in the Nový Jičín Surgical Department of the

Centre of Highly Specialised Oncological Treatment of

Adults (Centrum vysoce specializované onkologické

péče pro dospělé Nový Jičín) which was awarded

the prestigious European accreditation status “Case

Observation Centre“ in colorectal surgery. This status

allows the hospital to let surgeons from all over Europe

come, learn and perform robotic surgeries of the large

intestine and rectum. Can you describe the structure

of such training?

Education in robotic surgery has a few stages, and

differs with a console surgeon and with an assisting

surgeon. Firstly, the console surgeon is the surgeon

already experienced in colorectal surgery. The first stage

consists of learning the technicalities of the operation

with the robotic system as well as training surgical

skills on a simulator, which is part of the console of our

robotic system. Having achieved a certain success rate,

the surgeon proceeds to the next stage, which is training

surgical techniques of a particular surgery with special

piglets and cadavers. Only a few modern teaching

centres of laparoscopic and robotic surgery provide

this type of education and training. One or several visits

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