Boost for women’s health as University Hospital Limerick to expand robot service

IN A significant boost to women’s health in Limerick and the Mid-West, University Hospital Limerick is expected to commence robotic gynaecology surgery this month, the Limerick Leader has learned. 

This new service will be provided using the unique, state-of-the-art Da Vinci robot, which was launched in 2016 following a €2.6m philanthropic investment.

UHL is the only public hospital in the country to provide robotic laparoscopic surgery using this specialised, four-armed machine, which is remote-controlled by surgeons in a nearby space.

The world-renowned machine can make the tiniest of incisions in the most complex of cancer sites that cannot be done with the human hand.

Speaking on the future of the service, a spokesperson said: “Robotic surgery in the area of gynaecology is expected to commence in January 2019.”

In a follow-up query, the spokesperson said that they “will be launching our expanded gynaecology robotic surgery service in the coming weeks”. 

Asked what specific procedures will be carried out, the spokesperson said they had “no details yet”.

Since being docked in May 2016, a total of 187 patients have benefited from this minimally-invasive surgery across urology and colorectal specialities.

A spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group said there have been cost-savings as a result, but  the complexity of cases “makes it difficult to be precise around cost-savings as they vary with each procedure”.

In a previous statement to the Leader, the Da Vinci robot procedure saves up to four bed days per patient, and each bed day costs in the region of €1,456. That is a potential saving of up to €1,089,088, excluding savings on equipment use. 

Up to three operations can be carried out per day, depending on each surgical case.