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UAMS first in Arkansas with robotic procedure Thursday, Jun 12, 2008 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A surgeon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has become the first in the state to robotically remove a patient's cancerous cervix through the abdomen while preserving her ability to have children. The procedure performed April 28 by Dr. Alexander "Sandy" Burnett might be the first of its kind in the nation, the surgeon said Wednesday. "It's not been reported or described in the literature before," said Burnett, a gynecologic oncologist who designed the procedure using the robot. During the procedure, the $1.2 million da Vinci surgical robot UAMS acquired in September docked onto the 25-year-old patient with its four arms while Burnett sat at its console, directing the device to carefully make small incisions without damaging reproductive organs while removing the cancerous cervix. The patient was discharged after an overnight stay in the hospital. Since her cancer was in the early stages, her prognosis is good, Burnett said. As long as no recurrence of cancer is seen at a checkup in August, she will be cleared to have children. Traditionally, women with cervical cancer have been treated with radical hysterectomies that remove all their reproductive organs, Burnett said. In the past decade, surgeons have performed radical trachelectomies through the vagina, which leave the uterus intact. However, for a woman who's cervix cannot be reached through the vagina, an open abdominal surgeries have been the only option. After such a procedure, pregnancy rates are poor, party because the surgery requires that the uterine arteries be tied off to prevent bleeding, decreasing fertility, Burnett said. "It's sad to see a 25-year-old woman diagnosed, maybe who's just gotten married, and you're going to render her infertile by the treatment you have to do," he said. With the robot, which can also be used for other procedures, those consequences are eliminated, Burnett said. A 3-D camera and tiny surgical instruments avoid damage to blood vessels and reproductive organs. For that reason, the procedure could catch on, Burnett said. "I have someone coming from Illinois next week, a woman from Alabama coming in two weeks and another from Little Rock in August. As word gets out, I would anticipate that more people would come here for this," he said. Worldwide, cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. In the U.S., rates are lower because of widespread screening, but there are still about 11,000 cases annually, Burnett said. |
