On 10th and 11th of November 2023, SOFMEDICA organized a two-day conference titled: “Advancements in Robotic Surgery in Europe”, held at the University of Cyprus, under the auspices of Mr. Costas Mavrides, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Political Committee for the Mediterranean and Professor Dr. Stavros Gravas, who addressed the greeting on behalf of the Medical School of the University of Cyprus.
Representatives of Cypriot Universities, Hospitals and Organizations, as well as health professionals of various specialties and students participated in the two-day Conference. In the framework of the two-day conference, distinguished speakers were invited who had the opportunity to present the new developments of robotic surgery in various European countries, such as Hungary, Germany, Scotland and Greece.
The discussion focused on the importance of collaboration and education in innovative technologies such as robotic surgery and its positive impact on reducing costs throughout the patient care journey and the wider health system. At the same time, the challenges that are encountered daily in the field of healthcare in Cyprus, but also pan-European, were captured.
In this context, the two-day event gave the participants, and especially the students who watched the lectures with particular interest, the opportunity to become familiar with robotic surgery through test drives that took place throughout the two-day event on the simulator of the robotic surgical system Da Vinci Xi.
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to Dr. Attila Szijarto, Prof. of Surgery Semmelweis University Hungary, Dr. Emmanouil Kefalogiannis, Associate Professor of Thoracic Surgery University of Crete, Dr. Dimitrios Bolovis, Prof. OB/GYN Klinikum Nuremberg Germany, Dr. Grigorios Athanasiadis, Consultant Urological Surgeon Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Scotland for accepting the invitation and their important contribution.
Robotic surgery has been available to Healthcare Professionals for over 20 years. It is constantly evolving, reaching the 4th generation of robotic surgical systems. Today more than 8,000 robotic surgical systems are installed worldwide and over 1.5 million surgical procedures are performed annually in various specialties such as urology, gynecology, general surgery, thoracic surgery, pediatrics and ENT.
Basic benefits of robotic surgery:
- Access to innovative treatments with proven benefits for patients;
- Reduction of hospitalization time and cost;
- Reduction of complications and readmissions of patients to the hospital;
- Reducing the cost of transfusions and minimizing the need for hospitalization in the M.E.Th.;
- Faster patient recovery and faster return to regular activities;
- Maintaining new generations of surgeons (stopping the phenomenon of young and talented surgeons moving abroad). Continuous training and development of new surgeons;
- Precision of the surgeon’s movements while simultaneously eliminating anatomical tremor.
Robotic surgery is available in Cyprus in three hospitals included in GESY, already offering its superior clinical results.
Mr. Harris Palaondas, Business Director of SOFMEDICA, declared, “Using our almost three decades of experience working with hospitals and health care systems across Central and South Eastern Europe, we strive to offer solutions to these multifaceted challenges that are aligned with our customers’ clinical and economic capabilities and goals. A key insight from our experience is that we must provide more than a “robotic-assisted surgical system”; we must be a “technology-enabled solutions partner and provider”. Robotic-assisted surgery as a modality can help drive better patient outcomes; robotic-assisted surgical programs as a key part of a hospital’s care pathway can help optimize the cost and efficiency and advance the delivery and quality of care.”
SOFMEDICA Group (www.sofmedica.com), has a mission to provide patients with access to innovative medical technologies by empowering healthcare professionals with an ecosystem of innovation and education.
