ECU Health has performed a new type of colorectal robotic surgery. Officials say it’s the state’s first single-port colorectal robotic surgery using what’s called a “da Vinci SP (single port) system.” Colorectal procedures include the colon and rectum to help treat cancer as well as surgery for inflammatory bowel disease.
It was most recently used for two successful surgeries. One of them was through the belly and the other one was through doing a procedure on the anus. Dr. Warqaa Akram, a colorectal surgeon with ECU Health Cancer Care, said the single-port system allows surgeons to make one incision, instead of multiple.
“Also it allows access to other areas of the body that the other robotic system wasn’t being able to access, like doing oral surgery or doing a surgery trans-anally,” she said.
The device is a machine that has no autonomy. There’s no artificial intelligence within it and it’s under control 100% of the time by the surgeon.
Akram said the results from using the technology helps patients have quicker recovery time due to not being as invasive as a normal surgery. She added it could also help reduce travel barriers, especially among people in underserved areas in eastern North Carolina.
The latest CDC data shows colorectal cancer was the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in North Carolina in 2022.
“Colorectal diseases affect a big population in North Carolina, highest risk for colorectal cancer is African American males,” Akram said.
She urged North Carolinians to get screened for cancer instead of waiting for something to appear.