Versius and the potential of robotic surgery in Brazil

Less than a year ago, we announced the introduction of Versius into Brazil, at Hospital e Maternidade S?o Luiz Itaim, Rede D’Or in S?o Paulo. A leading hospital in Brazil’s largest city, Rede D’Or is using Versius as part of a multispecialty robotics programme, enabling their surgeons to have the precision and dexterity to more easily perform complex surgical procedures through keyhole surgery.

Since then, we have grown our presence across the country in a truly exciting robotics market with plenty of untapped potential. This includes our most recent instalment of Versius at Hospital Sao Vicente de Paulo (HSVP), located in the city of Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul. HSVP is a highly regarded hospital in the region, and with 105 years of history, it is considered amongst the 100 best hospitals in Brazil. HSVP is accredited with Excellence - Level 3 by the National Accreditation Organization, the maximum level of certification that can be awarded according to Brazilian quality and health safety standards.

At HSVP, Versius will be used under the newly established Hospital Robotics Medical Committee, chaired by Coloproctologist Dr. Milton Bergamo. The Committee’s aim is to provide a holistic approach to their multidisciplinary robotics programme including coloproctology, thoracic surgery, gynaecology, general surgery and bariatric surgery, to supervise and bring safety to surgeons, support teams and patients. In addition to CMR’s proficiency-based training programme, the multidisciplinary group meets weekly to monitor the progress of the newly established programme, and to ensure that there is an opportunity to collaborate across specialties and share key learnings to support improved surgical standards for patients across the board.

Due to its strong reputation, HSVP acts as a reference center in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. There are approximately 2.5 million people living in and around Passo Fundo and its neighbouring cities,?Carazinho, Ijuí, Soledade, Lagoa Vermelha, Erechim e Nova Prata, that often travel to Passo Fundo in order to access higher quality care, including complex surgical treatment.

The situation in Passo Fundo at HSVP represents the opportunity that exists for us across Brazil – a country that has a growing, ageing population with dense areas of population outside its major cities. Currently, roughly 75% of surgical robots in Brazil are concentrated in the states of S?o Paulo and Rio de Janerio, two of Brazil’s most populous states[i] highlighting the significant potential for the growth of the surgical robotics market across the country’s other 24 states. With the proportion of the population over 65 expected to triple by 2050 due to improved life expectancy[ii] , the demand for elective surgery, which can be performed using surgical robots such as Versius, will only continue to grow alongside this.

We are seeing the potential of surgical robotics programmes established using Versius through the ways hospitals like HSVP are approaching the implementation of their programmes. From the outset, with a multidisciplinary approach, with 12 surgical teams across a varied spectrum of disciplines and specialisms to ensure maximum utilisation of the system, and that as many patients as possible can experience the benefits of robotically-assisted minimal access surgery.

I, for one, am really motivated and excited about the potential that exists for surgical robotics here in Brazil for CMR as a company, and the opportunities we have to transform more patient lives and drive improved surgical standards across the board.

New case study: Increase in MAS provided at Klinikum Chemnitz following introduction of Versius?

?Earlier this month, CMR announced a new case study reporting results from the Versius Robotic Assisted Surgery Programme at Klinikum Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Some of the key findings include:?

• An increase in the number of patients receiving minimal access surgery, from 60% to 75% for right-sided hemicolectomy procedures, and from 35% to 50% for thoracic procedures.
• Mediastinal surgery is now being offered at Klinikum Chemnitz, providing a second location in Germany for this procedure and expanding egality of care for patients.
• Early observations of lower rate of conversion to open surgery vs manual approaches, as well as a reduction in post-operative pain for patients who have a Versius procedure.?

Click here to download the case study in full.

Milestone of 100 Versius operations reached in Wales

Surgical teams in Bangor and Cardiff are celebrating a major milestone after recently completing their 100th robotic operation.

The National Robotic Assisted Surgery Programme was introduced by the Welsh Government to improve outcomes for cancer patients by increasing the number of patients across Wales who have access to less-invasive, minimal access surgery (MAS).

Over the last year, Versius has been used to treat colorectal and gynaecological cancer patients at Betsi Cadwaladr (Ysbyty Gwynedd) in Bangor and The University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

Double Surgical Publications on the CMR Clinical Registry

And we’re pleased to share that two leading surgical publications have published journal articles on the importance of CMR Surgical’s clinical registry.

The article, in BMJ’s Surgery, Interventions, & Health Technologies [iii] analyses CMR’s clinical registry of case data that was introduced alongside the Versius Surgical Robotic System in 2019. It states that: “Harnessing the power of large-scale, real world registry data for routine surveillance of device performance in live-human surgery from first use will enhance the safety and efficacy outcomes of innovative surgical techniques.”

And a second paper in the renowned Annals of Surgery .[iv] The article was co-authored with renowned clinicians in the field and analyses the first 2,000 cases of data in the registry. It states that “The extensive surgical outcome data reported here provides real-world evidence for the safe implementation of the surgical robot into clinical practice”.

CMR has been collecting data from procedures from the very first case with Versius, across multiple locations and specialties, to improve safety and outcomes for patients.

[i] Soumpasis?I,?Nashef?S,?Dunning?J, et al. Safe implementation of surgical innovation: a prospective registry of the Versius Robotic Surgical System . BMJ Surgery, Interventions, & Health Technologies?2023;5:e000144.?doi:?10.1136/bmjsit-2022-000144

[ii] Soumpasis, Ilias; Nashef, Samer, Dunning, Joel, et al. Safe Implementation of a Next-Generation Surgical Robot: First Analysis of 2,083 Cases in the Versius Surgical Registry . Annals of Surgery ():10.1097/SLA.0000000000005871, April 10, 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005871

[iii] Terra RM, Gouvêa FM, Araújo PH, Haddad R, Pêgo-Fernandes PM. Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery in Brazil, a review of the literature and our current experience . Journal of Visualized Surgery. 2019;5:15.

[iv] AARP International, FP Analytics. The Aging Readiness & Competitiveness Report BRAZIL . AARP International. 2019.