PHÚ THỌ — The Phú Thọ General Hospital has become the first provincial hospital in the country to successfully use a robot in spinal column surgery.

The news was announced on Thursday by the hospital. The surgery was conducted on September 28.

The patient Trương Thanh Bình, 43, from Hạ Hòa District, was hospitalised with serious pain on her spine. She could not walk by herself. She had used painkillers for many months leading to stomach problems.

Bình said that four years ago, she was examined at the Hà Nội-based Việt Nam-Germany Hospital and doctors advised her to have surgery. However, she refused as she thought that it would affect her health.

Recently, serious pain meant she could not walk, so she visited the doctor once again who advised her to have surgery as soon as possible.

After hearing that the Phú Thọ General Hospital was preparing to use a robot in spinal column surgery, she decided to have the operation at the facility. She was also the first patient to undergo the procedure at the hospital.

Nguyễn Văn Sơn, deputy director of the hospital, said that the location for the screws was the most important part in spinal column surgery.

The robot will help doctors pinpoint the location and minimise harm to neighbouring tissues. The patients can avoid many risks during surgery. They will lose little blood, experience less pain and recover more quickly.

Without robots, the surgery lasts about an hour and a half. Now with the robot, it lasts just 30 minutes.

Bình is now recovering and is expected to be discharged from the hospital in the next ten days.

Phú Thọ is about 90km from Hà Nội. — VNS