Poland noticed a dramatic 70 per cent improve in robot-assisted surgical procedures in 2024, with hospitals performing round 17,100 such procedures, in line with a report by the Fashionable Healthcare Institute.
Nevertheless, entry varies tremendously relying on the area. The report signifies that within the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, as many as 185 operations have been carried out per 1,000 newly identified most cancers circumstances, whereas within the Opolskie area, solely 13 have been carried out.
“Regional disparities outcome primarily from a scarcity of systemic planning, financing, and a fragmented funding mannequin,” Dr Paweł Wisz, a urologist who set a brand new Polish document with 491 robotic operations in six establishments, advised Euractiv. “We want a method: a nationwide programme of reference robotic centres, the event and funding of scientific coaching for groups, and reimbursement for a wider vary of procedures,” he added.
Dominance of urology
Experiences point out that robotic surgical procedure in Poland is essentially dominated by means of da Vinci programs, which accounted for 88 per cent of procedures in 2024, whereas Versius programs carried out 12 per cent.
Furthermore, roughly 97 per cent of all robotic-assisted operations final yr concerned most cancers therapy. Non-oncological procedures numbered round 500, primarily in cardiothoracic surgical procedure, gynaecology, hernia restore, endometriosis, bariatric surgical procedure, urology, and paediatrics.
Of those, round 67 per cent have been in urology, with prostatectomy alone making up 61 per cent of all operations. Different widespread urological procedures have been largely kidney most cancers surgical procedure (primarily nephron-sparing procedures) and bladder most cancers (cystectomy). Of the 77 robotic surgical centres in Poland, solely eight didn’t carry out urological operations.
“Sufferers going through surgical therapy for prostate most cancers can now select from three strategies: open surgical procedure, laparoscopy, or robot-assisted surgical procedure,” Dr Wisz emphasised. Whatever the methodology, precision is essential, which is crucial for preserving capabilities comparable to continence and efficiency and, above all, for full elimination of the prostate when treating most cancers.
“Using the da Vinci robotic, particularly with the Collar approach, minimises the danger of leaving most cancers cells behind (so-called constructive margins)”. Dr Wisz notes that even when the most cancers is regionally superior, analysis confirms higher outcomes with robotic surgical procedure.
The remaining robotic procedures included colorectal most cancers surgical procedures, which made up 13% of all operations, and gynaecological surgical procedures, primarily for endometrial (uterine) most cancers, accounting for 12 per cent.
Different procedures, making up round 5 per cent of robotic interventions in Poland, lined a spread of oncological and non-oncological surgical procedures, together with these on the pancreas, abdomen, head and neck cancers, hernias, bariatric procedures, and extra. Cardiac surgical procedure accounted for about 2 per cent, with thoracic surgical procedure comprising roughly 1 per cent of robot-assisted procedures.
Equal entry challenges
As with every surgical process, one of the vital essential elements affecting not solely the period but in addition the success of the operation is the surgeon’s expertise. In Poland, over 300 medical doctors perform robot-assisted surgical procedures. Amongst them, the bulk, greater than 200, are urologists, round 60 specialize in colorectal surgical procedure, and about 30 concentrate on gynaecological procedures.
In 48 hospitals that every carried out no less than 100 robot-assisted operations in 2024 (there have been 52 such centres, although 4 didn’t present detailed information), roughly 220 operators labored, with about 10 performing surgical procedures at multiple facility. The variety of operators per hospital ranged from one to 12, with three hospitals having 10 or extra operators.
Regardless of development, entry to robotic surgical procedure stays uneven. Based on Dr Wisz, the expertise ought to serve everybody, not simply choose areas. “Robotic surgical procedure has the potential to equalise alternatives quite than deepen disparities”.
He believes that to genuinely improve entry to robotic surgical procedure in Poland, confirmed European options must be adopted, together with the implementation of validated coaching programs primarily based on measurable competencies (PBP), public, clear medical registers that measure scientific effectiveness for sufferers, the usage of tele-mentoring, and the creation of regional centres of competence.
“If we add to that the event of telesurgery programs permitting distant operations and coaching, we are able to degree entry to fashionable surgical procedure throughout the whole nation, no matter the place sufferers stay,” he defined.
Consultants welcome the rising variety of robotic operations throughout numerous specialities. Nevertheless, Krzysztof Jakubiak, creator of the report, warns that finances constraints within the Nationwide Well being Fund (NFZ) could hinder this development. Equalising funding for standard, laparoscopic, and robotic surgical procedures may gradual the additional enlargement of recent applied sciences in Polish hospitals.
[Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi]
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