Medicine should always be open to the emerging technological innovations that can lead to better treatment and patient’s care. Due to the development of new medical equipment and technologies in the recent decades, doctors are now able to cure more medical conditions than ever before. Surgery is a good example of how new medical devices and methods influenced the quality of treatment.

Since the beginning of June 2015, the Women's Clinic of the German Red Cross Hospital in Chemnitz has used a state-of-the-art 3D laparoscopy system. This makes it the first gynecological clinic in the region to use this 3D technique in minimally invasive surgery for women. 

The minimally invasive surgery has been standard practice at the Rabensteiner Gynecological Clinic for many years and is used in the treatment of gynecological as well as malignant diseases of women’s reproductive organs.

The new technology transmits three-dimensional Full HD images from the abdomen of the patient to the monitor in the operating room in real time. Special glasses allow the spatial perception of the images. The depth perception thus obtained creates a precise spatial representation of the anatomy. This was not possible with conventional 2D systems.

In case of laparoscopy, abdominal surgery is performed with the help of an optical instrument without opening the abdominal wall. Small cuts the size of a centimeter are made, through which all required instruments are inserted. A special camera helps to guide by transferring images from the abdominal cavity to the monitor. This is a much more gentle procedure for the patients as they usually recover faster and can return home sooner. So far, the imaging of these operations has been two-dimensional. With the new technology, imaging now takes place three-dimensionally, i.e. spatially.

"The hand-eye coordination is improved so much that now we can operate faster and much safer," says Dr. Jens Schnabel, chief physician of the Women’s Health Clinic. "The new 3D laparoscopy system enables the minimally invasive procedure, even in the more difficult surgeries that to date have been made in an opened fashion. Now, this technology is in use almost every day. We mainly use it for complex surgical procedures, such as in carcinoma or lymph node removal as well as plastic surgeries performed on the pelvic floor.”

The device is variably switchable between 3D and 2D so that smaller interventions can still be carried out in the conventional mode. In addition, videos and images can be recorded at any time to document the surgical procedure.

The entire laparoscopy system consists of a long fiber optic cable with several devices (used for gas insufflation and light delivery), a computer and a monitor. For the new 3D technology, the existing 2D system, which also supplies high-resolution images in Full HD, has been upgraded to include the new components: camera, lighting system, monitor and corresponding eyewear. The cost of this technology was € 72,000, which was financed from Hospital’s own funds.

"I am pleased that together with the managing directors of our hospital we have quickly decided for this new technology and thus can offer our patients an even higher medical and surgical quality," says chief physician Dr. Jens Schnabel.

Are you interested in learning more about the treatment methods discussed in this article? Contact us today to speak with a Medscout Healthcare Consultant. Medscout team will support you throughout the entire treatment course.