Yonsei Cancer Hospital has surpassed 500 robotic breast surgeries.
Professors Park Hyung-seok, Kim Ji-ye, and Ahn Ji-hyun of the Breast Surgery Team at Yonsei Cancer Hospital said Friday that they had performed the 500th robotic breast surgery recently.
It was the world's largest number of robotic breast surgeries, established seven years after the center introduced robotic surgery for breast cancer treatment for the first time in Asia in 2016.
Breast cancer treatment consists of surgical removal of the cancer, followed by chemotherapy and other adjuvant treatments.
There are two types of breast cancer surgery: a total lumpectomy, which removes the entire breast, and a partial lumpectomy (mastectomy), which removes only the tumor and a portion of the breast near the tumor.
Before the introduction of robotic surgery, scars were visible through direct incisions in the breast. However, robotic breast surgery is characterized by removing cancer cells through a two to six-centimeter window in the armpit or flank covered by the arm rather than the breast and inserting a robotic endoscope to remove the cancer cells, leaving almost no scars.
It can also safely perform prophylactic bilateral mastectomies, in which the breasts of patients with BRCA gene mutations that increase the incidence of breast cancer are removed in advance.
Yonsei Cancer Hospital holds various records, following the first in Asia to perform robotic breast surgery.
Professor Park was the first worldwide to perform breast cancer surgery using the latest robotic surgery device, the da Vinci SP (Single Port). Medical professionals from Korea, Europe, and Asia, including doctors from Harvard University and the Mayo Clinic, visit Yonsei Cancer Center to observe robotic breast surgery.
The Breast Cancer Center at Yonsei Cancer Hospital has increased patient satisfaction with its multidisciplinary care, including plastic surgery.
After the breast surgery team completes the mastectomy, which involves removing the entire breast, the plastic surgery team (led by Professors Lee Dong-won, Song Seung-yong, and Yang Eun-jeong) performs breast reconstruction surgery, which involves recreating the breast with implants. In doing so, they focus on improving patient satisfaction and protecting their self-esteem following breast loss.
"Yonsei Cancer Hospital, the first to introduce robotic surgery for breast cancer treatment in Asia, recently set the record for the world's first 500 robotic breast surgeries," Professor Park said. "We will continue to do our best to improve treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction through multidisciplinary care with various clinical departments."