Image: Hugo Robotic Assisted Surgery System (Photo courtesy of Medtronic)
Medtronic (Doral, FL, USA) announced that the first clinical procedure in Europe was performed with the Hugo robot-assisted surgery (RAS) system at OLV Hospital (Aalst, Belgium).
A form of minimally invasive surgery, robot-assisted surgery offers fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, faster return to normal activities, and smaller scars than open surgery. The Hugo RAS System – Medtronic’s solution to the historic costs and usage barriers that have kept surgical robotics out of reach for many hospitals – is a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for a wide range of procedures on soft tissues. It combines wrist instruments, 3D visualization and Touch Surgery Enterprise, a cloud-based surgical video capture and management solution, with dedicated support teams specializing in program optimization, service and training. robotics. In 2021, Medtronic announced the first urology and gynecology procedures with the Hugo System in Latin America and Asia Pacific. These procedures and cases in Europe will be part of the Hugo RAS System patient registry, which collects clinical data to support regulatory submissions worldwide.
“Performing the very first procedure in Europe with the Hugo RAS System is a career highlight,” said Professor Alexandre Mottrie, MD, Head of Urology at OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, who performed the robotic prostatectomy. “With over two decades and 4,000 robot-assisted surgery procedures under my belt, I am acutely aware of the barriers that have prevented doctors, hospitals and patients from realizing the benefits of surgical robotics. Now, I believe that we are entering a new era filled with greater access and greater flexibility.”
“We are extremely proud to have left our mark on medical history as the very first center in the region to adopt surgical robotics in 1999,” said Peter Verhulst, CEO of OLV Hospital Aalst. “Decades later, we are delighted to be recognized as a center of excellence in robotic surgery, leaving another indelible mark as the first hospital in all of Europe to offer the Hugo RAS system and the first in the world to have Medtronic’s two RAS platforms – the Hugo system for soft tissue and the Mazor system for spinal surgery.”
“This is an exciting and important time for healthcare in Europe and we are proud to share it with Dr Mottrie and the team at OLV,” said Megan Rosengarten, President of the Surgical Robotics business, who is part of the Medical Surgical portfolio. at Medtronic.
Related links:
Medtronic
OLV Hospital