Robot performed Prostate Surgery at the Hospital of the Police

Inside this hole it is inserted the robotic arm

At the National Police Hospital, located on the Avenue of the Americas, in the North of Guayaquil, a robot named Ablatherm Hi-Fut operates from two weeks ago, which was designed for the focalized treatment of prostate cancer, and operates using high frequency ultrasound waves.

Gonzalo Ulloa, Coordinator of Urology of the Hospital of the National Police, said that the utility’s equipment is located in the robotic arm that is able to locate the prostate gland, and emits waves that kill cancer cells since it radiates intense heat.

Ulloa said that even though there are other treatments for this disease such as radical prostatectomy (open  or laparoscopic surgery to remove the gland) or placing radioactive seeds inside, with the acquired equipment the possibilities of subsequent diseases after the surgery decrease significantly.

The team consists of a platform for the surgery, a console from where intervention is directed and a robotic arm (which enters the rectum of the patient).

So far there have been three surgeries, which lasted two hours as a maximum time.

Ulloa also said that the important thing is to is to detect cancer when it is not yet in an advanced stage, he recommended that males over the age of 40 must go to have the rectal examination as a preventive measure.