As cardiothoracic surgeon Professor Chris Merry sat at the controls of our new next generation da Vinci 5 robot for the first time last week, he was struck by the clarity of the images.

“The 3D visualisations are extraordinary,” Prof Merry said as he worked on removing a section of his patient’s diseased lung. “And the precision and movement of the controls are outstanding. If this is only 10 per cent of the da Vinci 5 robot’s capability, it’s hard to imagine what surgery will be like in the future.”

While Cabrini surgeons have been long-time users of surgical robots, Prof Merry performed Cabrini’s first robotic thoracic surgery, and it couldn’t have gone any better, he said.

“The patient was an ideal candidate for this type of surgery,” Prof Merry said. “Everything went perfectly thanks to the theatre team and this remarkable technology.”

While using robotic technology provides surgeons with magnified 3D visualisations, making identification of anatomical structures easier, and provide 360-degree range of motion, it’s patients who are set to benefit most from this advanced next generation technology.

“Because we were able to use the robot, we only had to make tiny incisions during surgery, which is great for a patient’s recovery,” Prof Merry said. “Recovery times are usually faster and there are generally lower complication and infection rates when robots are used, so increasing access to robotic surgeries is good news for everyone.”

Cabrini uses a range of robots in its robotic program, including da Vincis, Velys and Mako robots, to assist our surgeons across a number of specialities.

Upper gastrointestinal surgeon Mr Hamish Shilton was the first surgeon to use our new da Vinci 5 robot at Cabrini, and he too couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. Mr Stephen Bell, meanwhile, performed the first colorectal procedure using the new da Vinci 5 last week.

Mr Hamish Shilton with the da Vinci 5 robot

Mr Stephen Bell with the da Vinci 5 robot