Medtronic said the first U.S. commercial surgical case using its recently FDA-cleared Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system has been successfully performed by Jihad Kaouk, MD, professor and chair of the Glickman Urologic Institute and the Zegarac-Pollock Endowed Chair in Robotic Surgery at Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Kaouk successfully completed a robotic-assisted prostatectomy, and the patient was discharged the day after surgery.
"This case exemplifies Cleveland Clinic's mission to lead surgical innovation and expand access to minimally invasive surgery," said Dr. Kaouk. "The new technology allows us to customize the approach for each patient case."
Urology has led the way in adoption of robotic technology, with about 80% of urologic abdominal surgeries in the U.S. today conducted with the assistance of a robotic system. This high adoption rate has created a community of surgeons highly experienced in robotic-assisted procedures available to support training as new technology like the Hugo RAS system becomes available, which is important as robotic-assisted approaches are increasingly common across many specialties and hospitals are looking for solutions to address capacity challenges.
The Hugo RAS system's mobile footprint with modular arms may help address operating room scheduling challenges and infrastructure limitations, enabling more patients access to the well-documented benefits of minimally invasive care — including reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stays, decreased recovery time, and less postoperative pain.
The company plans to follow its initial urology indication for the Hugo RAS system with indication expansion into gynecologic and general surgery procedures, including hernia repair.
