Seoul St. Mary's Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Surpasses 3,000 Robot-Assisted Surgeries

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital announced on the 30th that it has achieved 3,000 cases of robotic surgery. In particular, robotic myomectomy and adenomyomectomy surgeries that preserve the uterus have recorded the highest numbers in South Korea.

Since the introduction of the second-generation robotic surgical system 'da Vinci S' in 2009, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital surpassed 500 cases of robotic myomectomy?the first in the country?in 2017. Subsequently, in March 2016, they introduced one unit of the fourth-generation 'da Vinci Xi,' followed by two more units in May 2018. In September of last year, they newly introduced one unit of the latest equipment, 'da Vinci SP,' and currently perform surgeries using a total of four robotic surgical systems.

The number of robotic surgeries was highest for myomectomy and adenomyomectomy at 2,276 cases (75.9%), followed by hysterectomy with 276 cases (9.2%), gynecologic cancer surgeries with 243 cases (8.1%), ovarian cystectomy with 191 cases (6.4%), and other robotic surgeries totaling 14 cases (0.4%).

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors occurring in women and can cause infertility depending on their location and characteristics. Notably, the prevalence has significantly increased recently among women in their late 20s to early 30s, which has been linked to South Korea's lowest fertility rate among OECD countries.

Professor Kim Mi-ran, head of external cooperation and an obstetrics and gynecology specialist, achieved 1,000 cases of robotic myomectomy?the first in Asia?in November 2019. As of February this year, she has performed a total of 1,689 surgeries, holding the record for the highest number of surgeries by a single surgeon in South Korea. To date, there has not been a single case where robotic surgery was converted to open surgery. Even cases with numerous fibroids or those with sizes or locations difficult to operate on laparoscopically, which would typically require open surgery, have been treated with robotic surgery, preserving fertility for many patients.

Professor Kim stated, “Unlike uterine fibroids, adenomyosis lesions do not have clear boundaries, making the surgery more challenging. We are actively performing robotic adenomyomectomy to preserve fertility.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.