Severance Hospital said that it has become "the world's first hospital" to perform 40,000 robotic surgeries at a single institution as of December 2023.

In 2005, Severance Hospital introduced robotic surgery for cholecystectomy and prostatectomy in Korea, achieving rapid growth from 10,000 cases in 2013 to 30,000 in 2021.

Of these 40,000 cases, 5,000 were performed with the Da Vinci SP surgical robot, the latest single-port robotic surgery system. The Da Vinci SP is primarily utilized for narrow and deep site surgeries such as thyroidectomies and oral cancer resections, reducing pain and scarring, and increasing patient satisfaction.

The Da Vinci SP manufacturer, Intuitive Surgical, reports that Korea had 313,000 robotic surgeries by December 2023, with Severance Hospital contributing to over one in 10 cases.

Severance Hospital, boasting the largest number of robotic surgical devices in Korea, operates 10 surgical robots across 17 clinical departments and more than 100 doctors. 

The hospital holds various robotic surgery records, including the first prostate and kidney cancer surgeries in Korea, 500 robotic breast surgeries in Aug. 2023, and the first kidney transplant using a robot.

Aside from clinical achievements, Severance Hospital has published 776 robotic surgery papers as of October 2023 and was recognized by Intuitive Surgical in 2021 as a Single Port (SP) Robotic Surgery Epicenter.

Having trained over 2,200 individuals in 39 countries including the U.K. and Japan, Severance Hospital remains at the forefront of global robotic surgery education since its 2005 introduction.

Since the introduction of robotic surgery in 2005, Severance Hospital has led the development of robotic surgery in Korea. Most of the current robotic surgery techniques, such as two-stage thyroidectomy using SP, were developed by Severance's physicians. 

"Severance Hospital is leading the growth of robotic surgery, which is seen as a cutting-edge technique in surgery that not only improves treatment outcomes but also increases patient satisfaction through minimally invasive incisions," said Ham Won-sik, a professor of urology at Severance Hospital. "We will continue to be an institution that can provide guidelines for not only Korean but also international  medical professionals."