Bulletin No. 2, 2015

da Vinci® S Surgical System Prof. Philip Chiu demonstrates the use of the endoscopic surgical robot to perform ESD to assist the chief surgeon to perform simple procedures in a surgery. Eventually they would take charge of the whole surgery under the surveillance of their trainers. Nowadays, the MIS technique can be applied to stent graft implantation, gallstone removal, bowel cancer, gastric cancer, adrenal gland, liver, lung, and kidney. In 2005 the Department of Surgery introduced the first da Vinci® S Surgical System in Hong Kong, followed by an updated version in 2008. The surgeon at his/her control console now sees a superior 3D high-definition image of the operating field. Last year, the Faculty of Medicine completed Asia’s first Gastric Pacemaker implant surgery for a patient suffering from gastroparesis. ‘Over the last 10 years, MISSC has trained over 15,000 health care professionals. About 70% are from Hong Kong, and the remaining 30% from the mainland, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, etc. The most iconic training programme is on robot-assisted surgical operation. In Asia, only Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan offer such courses. In 2008, MISSC became Asia’s first accredited robotic surgery training centre,’ said Professor Chiu. Earlier this year, the University established the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine. The cutting-edge engineering and medical research centre focuses on robotics, imaging and biosensing. It is the latest testimony to the University’s commitment to medical innovations. T wenty-five years ago, Prof. Chung Sheung- chee Sydney , former Dean of Medicine at CUHK, performed the first laparoscopic gallbladder removal surgery in Hong Kong at the Prince of Wales Hospital. In 2005, the CUHK Jockey Club Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Centre (MISSC) was established as a platform to provide training and practising opportunities to surgeons. Today, most operations can be carried out in the form of MIS. Prof. Philip Chiu is the director of MISSC. He said MIS—minimally-invasive surgery, which is performed through the body’s orifices such as mouth, nose or anus—has reached a new height. He took the endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) he introduced to Hong Kong in 2004 as an example. ‘Treating early bowel cancer used to involve removing the entire organ. In endoscopic surgery, doctors remove a tumour and infected tissues nearby through an endoscope which enters through the mouth. The organ remains intact and no incision is made. Patients can eat the day after the operation.’ By traditional apprenticeship training, surgeons were taught to operate directly with their eyes and hands. To perform MIS is to look at a 2D screen to perform a 3D surgery. Surgeons go to classes to observe how operations are done, and to practise using computer simulation. They also have to practise basic surgical steps on animal models. When they are fully acquainted with the procedures and techniques, they are allowed Pushing the Frontiers of Minimally Invasive Surgery 29