A robotic-assisted distal pancreatectomy with splenic vessels preservation (Kimura approach) was successfully performed by Prof. Zhao Yupei, the honorary president of PUMCH, on Jan. 27, 2021. This marks the 1,000th robotic surgery performed in the hospital, as well as the 325th robotic pancreatic surgery accomplished by Prof. Zhao and his team.

The 35-year-old patient, Ms. Yu, was diagnosed with retroperitoneal mass during a health examination, which was found to be close to her pancreas, adrenal gland, and stomach. Ms. Yu and her whole family became deeply anxious since her mother and aunt had both suffered from pancreatic carcinoma. “My mom underwent surgery for her condition at PUMCH in 2014, and her pathology report revealed an advanced-stage carcinoma, with an estimated survival time of 18 months. Thanks to the treatment and careful management of the multi-disciplinary team at PUMCH, we were granted three more precious years with Mom after the surgery.”

“I’m so lucky to have had my surgery done by Prof. Zhao, who has successfully preserved my spleen. My pathology report afterward showed a benign lesion. I'm getting better every day after the surgery. I’m really grateful to have received the benefits of the technical advancements, especially when I recall the tough time that my mom had after her surgery, with a large and thick wound dressing on her stomach,” Ms. Yu said.

The robotic surgical system has led minimally invasive surgery to an entirely new era. Instead of scrubbing in and standing the whole time beside the operating table, surgeons can now finish the whole procedure by sitting at the surgeon’s console, controlling robotic arms which eliminate the tremor of human hands. Moreover, the robotic arms have 7 degrees of motility range, which allows them to complete a number of difficult procedures which are impossible to perform by human hands or by traditional approaches. For the surgeon, the robotic system signifies extended arms, dexterous hands, enhanced accuracy, and minimized invasion for the patient.

In 2020, PUMCH, in partnership with multiple pancreatic surgery centers in the nation, began to further promote minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy (including robotic assisted surgery) and investigate its advantages, safety and feasibility in the treatment of the carcinoma of pancreatic body and tail. Several prospective and retrospective studies have been launched in order to improve the safety and effects of the surgery, as well as to facilitate the normalization of robotic surgery, to better serve and cure patients.

Prof. Zhao and his team checking patient’s CT image before the surgery.

Prof. Zhao performing the robotic assisted distal pancreatectomy.

The robotic surgery team of PUMCH, including the department of general surgery, urology, anaesthesiology and operating room.

Reporter: Fu Tanping

Photo: Sun Liang

Translator: Hou Rui

Editor: Kang Lin