University Hospital Dinant Godinne surgeons successfully perform robotic-assisted surgeries with Flex System

Leading surgeons at the University Hospital Dinant Godinne completed the world's first robotic-assisted surgical procedures with the Medrobotics' Flex^® System. The surgical team of Prof. Marc Remacle and Prof. Georges Lawson successfully performed procedures on two patients, which included the ablation of a vocal fold angiectatic polyp and the resection of tongue-based lymphoid tissue (lingual tonsil).

The first patient had a chronic hoarseness induced by a polyp on the vocal fold. The lesion was benign and couldn't be cured by speech therapy or medical treatment. The patient returned home on the same day of the surgery.

The second patient had severe snoring, without apneic problems. The base of tongue and palatine tonsils were localized as the main cause by a previously done sleep endoscopy. The patient was discharged from the hospital one day after surgery.

The Flex^® System, designed and manufactured by Medrobotics Corporation, enables surgical procedures where conventional line-of-sight technologies are either not feasible or sub-optimal. Surgeons can navigate the Flex^® System around anatomical structures to hard-to-reach locations through a single access site, and then use the onboard high-definition vision system to precisely deploy flexible surgical instruments. The uniquely "wristed" 3mm Flex^® Instruments enable the surgeon to operate in confined spaces, further extending his or her reach to important and often challenging areas of the anatomy.

"With other approaches, surgeons sometimes cannot achieve the access and visualization that they desire minimally invasively." said Prof. Remacle. "With the Flex^® System, we can more easily access and treat patients with challenging anatomy."

Minimally invasive surgery has demonstrated advantages for patients and providers compared to traditional open procedures, decreasing hospital stays and recovery times. The Flex^® System was designed to provide an affordable, easy-to-use robotic-assisted surgical platform for hospitals and surgeons seeking to provide minimally-invasive treatment options to the broadest number of patients.