Cabueñes University Hospital has achieved a significant milestone by performing Spain's first robotic surgery for an aortic aneurysm. The procedure, conducted on 7 October, involved a 66-year-old male patient and utilised the Da Vinci surgical robot, marking a transformative step in vascular surgery.
The surgery aimed to treat an infrarenal aortic aneurysm, which is a balloon-like dilation of the aorta. Surgeons performed an aorto-bi-iliac bypass, replacing the affected section with a Y-shaped vascular prosthesis that connects to the healthy parts of the aorta and both iliac arteries. Previously, this complex procedure required open surgery, but the introduction of robotic techniques allows for a minimally invasive approach, resulting in smaller incisions, enhanced surgical precision, and quicker recovery times for patients.
The Da Vinci robot enables surgeons to avoid the large incision associated with traditional laparotomy, replacing it with six small openings. Open surgery also typically necessitated the evisceration of the patient to access the aorta, increasing recovery time and potential complications. Robotic surgery improves recovery times and reduces the risk of post-operative issues, such as hernias, while also minimising post-operative pain due to less damage to the abdominal nerve plexuses.
Cabueñes University Hospital conducts over fifty aortic aneurysm surgeries annually. The surgical team for this pioneering operation included Manuel Vallina and Lucas Álvarez from Vascular Surgery, and Begoña Díaz, Luis Rodríguez, and Sergio Fernández-Pello from Urology. Nursing staff Ricardo Rubio, Ignacio Varela, and Ana Bengoechea, along with anaesthetist Pelayo Miranda, also contributed to the procedure.
The patient is currently recovering well, able to walk and starting to tolerate food, which significantly shortens the usual recovery times associated with more invasive techniques. Prior to this innovative surgery, the surgical team underwent training at Na Homolce Hospital in Prague, one of the few institutions where this technique had already been implemented and is recognised for its expertise in robotic vascular surgery.
This new procedure will be integrated into the surgical services offered with the Da Vinci robot, with each case evaluated individually to determine whether open surgery, robotic assistance, or endoprosthesis placement (stenting) is the most appropriate intervention.
Photo caption: Left to right, the team involved in the pioneering surgery: Ana Bengoechea, Begoña Díaz, Sergio Fernández-Pello, Ignacio Varela, Lucas Álvarez, Manuel Vallina-Victorero, Luis Rodríguez, Pelayo Miranda, and Ricardo Rubio.
