The operations are more precise and less invasive, boasts the hospital in Jastrzębie-Zdrój. This is thanks to the HUGO RAS robotic system. The Silesian facility was the first to introduce it in Poland.
Patients with prostate and colon cancer can be operated on with the help of a robot. The first treatments using HUGO RAS took place at the beginning of December. In the first week of the system's operation, doctors performed five surgical procedures. In 2025, the hospital plans to perform over 200 operations using this technology.
Novices can learn, the surgeon does not get tired
The head of the Department of Urology and Urological Oncology, Dr. Agata Witosińska-Walica, emphasized that the HUGO RAS system has excellent image quality and very precise tool movements.
Surgeons from Jastrzębie-Zdrój are the first in Poland to use the HUGO RAS robotProvincial Specialist Hospital No. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój
– Compared to laparoscopy, there is a much lower risk of urinary incontinence. HUGO RAS allows you to spare the neurovascular bundles, thanks to which the patient maintains sexual function. It also allows for a perfect anastomosis of the urethra and the urinary bladder after removal of the prostate and significantly accelerates convalescence – said Dr. Witosińska-Walica, head of the Department of Urology and Urological Oncology.
As doctors emphasize, in colorectal surgery, the robot allows procedures to be performed with minimal tissue trauma, which shortens hospitalization time and allows patients to quickly start further oncological treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Surgeons from Jastrzębie-Zdrój are the first in Poland to use the HUGO RAS robotProvincial Specialist Hospital No. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój
The system is a modular and portable solution, which enables its comprehensive use by doctors of various specializations and easy transfer between operating rooms.
– The open HUGO console facilitates communication and improves cooperation between the operating team. It allows young surgeons to stand behind the operator and learn. Moreover, HUGO is designed in such a way that the operator does not get tired even during a long-hour procedure, said Dr. Artur Ploch, head of the Department of General Surgery and Oncological Surgery.
Surgeons from Jastrzębie-Zdrój are the first in Poland to use the HUGO RAS robotProvincial Specialist Hospital No. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój
“Nothing hurt me”
Patients undergoing robotic surgery are often able to get out of bed on the day of the procedure and quickly return to normal activity.
– When I woke up after the procedure and saw that I had no tubes or wounds, I cried with happiness. Already in the evening, that same day, I wanted to walk. The nurses actually stopped me from being active. Nothing hurt. I am very pleased and I brag to my friends that I was operated on by a doctor assisted by a robot – said 76-year-old Mrs. Jadwiga, who underwent the procedure assisted by HUGO RAS.
Surgeons from Jastrzębie-Zdrój are the first in Poland to use the HUGO RAS robotProvincial Specialist Hospital No. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój
In 2024, the Provincial Specialist Hospital No. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój performed over 8,000 procedures in the operating theater. The purchase of the HUGO RAS system was financed from the hospital's own funds, and the facility is applying for reimbursement of costs under the National Reconstruction Plan. As hospital spokesman Artur Dzwonek said in an interview with tvn24.pl, the machine cost PLN 10.5 million.
Main photo source: Provincial Specialist Hospital No. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój