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A new surgical robot was used for the first time at the University Medical Center Freiburg to remove the right side of a patient's liver via a single abdominal access / Less pain and faster recovery

For the first time in the world, the right side of a patient's liver has been removed via a single minimally invasive approach at the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Freiburg University Medical Center. Previously, this required open surgery or a minimally invasive procedure with several access points. The team led by senior consultant Dr. Philipp Holzner and senior consultant Dr. Christopher Berlin from the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Freiburg University Medical Center succeeded in performing the procedure. The innovative technique allows for a particularly gentle operation with potentially faster recovery and increased quality of life for patientsafter the procedure.

"Our extensive experience with complex liver operations on the multi-arm robotic system and careful preparation have enabled us to successfully implement this new procedure. Our aim is to provide the gentlest possible treatment for our patients. We are convinced that the development of robot-assisted systems will significantly expand the possibilities in surgery in the future," says Holzner.

"With this new technology, we can perform even major operations such as partial liver removal in a particularly gentle and individualized way - precisely tailored to the anatomy of each individual patient," says Prof. Dr. Stefan Fichtner-Feigl, Medical Director of the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Freiburg University Medical Center.

Gentle procedure with just one access

This major liver operation - in which around 65 percent of the organ is removed - is still performed openly in most clinics, with a large abdominal incision. At the Freiburg University Medical Center, the removal is already performed robotically in many cases, previously using a multi-arm system. The single-arm da Vinci "Single Port" system now in use has only been available in Freiburg since this year. It was specially developed for procedures where conventional systems reach their limits - such as operations in confined anatomical spaces. Surgical instruments and a camera can be inserted into the body with just one access point. This technique enables a gentle operation with potentially less post-operative pain, a shorter hospital stay and improved surgical accessibility of the affected tissue.

The operation was necessary for a young patient who had been diagnosed with a benign liver tumor. As the tumor was increasing in size and there was a risk of it turning into a malignant tumor, the treating physicians advised the precautionary removal of the right half of the liver. Thanks to this particularly gentle procedure, the patient was able to leave the hospital just six days after the operation.