The world's first colorectal cancer surgery using ‘hinotori,’ a surgical robot first developed in Japan, was performed at Sapporo Medical University Hospital on November 8. Professor Takemasa Ichiro, who performed the surgery, said, “The Japanese-made robot was able to remove the cancer completely and safely. Patients now have more options for advanced medical care,”
Hinotori was developed by Medicaroid Corporation (Kobe, Japan). Urological surgery for prostate and other cancers began being covered by medical insurance in Japan in December 2020. Currently, more than 30 units are in operation in Japan and have performed approximately 500 surgeries. In October of this year, coverage was extended to gastroenterological and gynecological surgery, and insurance-covered treatment is expected to be approved in the near future.
In October, Sapporo Medical University Hospital became the first medical institution in Hokkaido to introduce hinotori. The first surgery was performed by Professor Takemasa, who is the only instructor in Japan certified by the related medical societies to perform colon cancer surgery using the robot. The patient was a woman in her 60s with bowel cancer.
Professor Takemasa sat at the controls of the robot, some distance from the operating table, and operated the robot remotely with his hands and feet, while viewing magnified three-dimensional images of the patient's body captured by an endoscopic camera. The controls activated four arms that extended from the main body of the robot to the patient on the operating table. Endoscopes, scalpels, forceps and other instruments attached to the tips of the arms moved freely inside the body through small incisions made in the abdomen. The surgery was completed in about two-and-a-half hours. If all goes well, the patient is expected to be discharged from hospital in about a week to 10-days.
Robot-assisted endoscopic surgery is a ‘minimally invasive’ treatment that is gentle on the body, due to small scars and rapid recovery time. “Since it is made in Japan, it can be arranged to meet our needs,” says Professor Takemasa.
