UAE | Health
First robotic arm surgery to be performed in UAE
Going under the knife takes on new meaning for three patients in the UAE this Friday - one of the hands holding the knife will be a robot.
- By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:06 April 8, 2008
Dubai: Going under the knife takes on new meaning for three patients in the UAE this Friday - one of the hands holding the knife will be a robot.
The UAE will see its first robotic arm-assisted surgery happen on Friday at Rashid Hospital, where foreign experts will perform bariatric surgery on three UAE patients.
The procedure will be broadcast live to an audience at the hospital auditorium, part of a three-day laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical conference organised by the Emirates Medical Association.
Prof Rolf Hartung, head of general surgery at Dubai Hospital, told Gulf News the idea of the conference was to inform the medical community of the latest technology in surgery.
"Up till now, we operate through the skin. Then [we started doing minimally-invasive laparoscopic surgery]. And now, we have robotic surgeries," he said.
Robotic surgery is done by a robot specially designed to perform medical procedures and controlled by a surgeon in another room. The method lessens the risks of infection and requires fewer people to perform a surgery. However, the cost is prohibitive, carrying a price tag of as much as Dh5 million.
Prof Hartung said a more popular and cheaper alternative now was using the robotic arm to assist surgeries rather than a whole robot. "The robotic arm will do part of the surgery. It removes the need for a second surgeon in complicated procedures [because] the robotic arm works as an extra hand," he said.
He said the robotic arm could also lower the risk of mistakes from trembling, which might occur when a surgeon was tired.
He added the robotic arm-assisted surgeries at Rashid Hospital were for demonstration purposes only. The conference will also include a live transmission from Singapore, where surgeon Dr Susan Lim will perform a procedure using a full robot.
Share this article
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
The best reader pictures from around the UAE this week
Latest news
- Dance group brings taste of Korean culture to Abu Dhabi
- Africa segment at Dubai film festival
- Campaign to emphasise unity of UAE begins
- EAD studies focus on water security
- Facing battle against obesity in UAE schools
- Abu Dhabi plans to take comedy seriously
- Dubai Press Club marks 10th anniversary
- Visitors flock to see latest offerings at Sharjah book fair
- UAE combats human trafficking
- Ministry denies hijacking of UAE-flagged ship
- Saif meets special needs centre users
- Man says he repaid 95% of amount he embezzled
- Dubai saleswoman claims she was duped, raped
- Female clerk, waiter deny drug trafficking charges
- Gulf health officials slam unethical advertising
Community Reports
-
Help me find my precious cat
Raif, my cute eight-month-old ‘fur ball', went missing in Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen area last month
-
Pavement parking irks pedestrians
Gulf News reader calls on authorities to step in and stop car owners from invading pathways meant for safe walking
-
Faded parking lines pose a problem
Motorists could be fined for parking incorrectly even though they can hardly see the boundaries in the designated areas
-
School buses block residential parking
Commercial vehicles taking up free parking facilities in Al Wuheida, inconveniencing residents in surrounding villas
