Vietnam has successfully performed its first cancer operation using two Da Vinci Xi robotic surgical systems operating in Dual Console mode, allowing two surgeons to work simultaneously during a complex procedure.
The operation was carried out at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, where doctors removed a prostate tumour and reconstructed the bladder of a 73-year-old patient in just 40 minutes.
Inside the modern Hybrid operating theatre at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, two specialists jointly control the Da Vinci Xi robot during Doan's surgery (Photo: Trung Vu).
The patient, Huynh Van Doan, from An Giang Province, had been diagnosed with stage T2 prostate cancer that failed to respond to medical treatment. His deteriorating health meant a prolonged operation would have significantly increased the risks associated with anaesthesia and post-operative recovery.
To improve surgical precision, shorten operating time and reduce the risks of complications, Vu Le Chuyen, director of the hospital's Centre for Urology, Nephrology and Andrology, decided to perform the country's first Dual Console procedure using the Da Vinci Xi robotic surgical platform.
Working from two independent control consoles, doctor Vu Le Chuyen and doctor Le Phuc Lien viewed the surgical field through a three-dimensional imaging system magnified 15 times while simultaneously controlling separate robotic arms.
The surgeons shared control throughout the operation, allowing each to focus on different stages of the procedure. Chuyen concentrated on removing the tumour, while Lien preserved critical nerves, controlled blood vessels and protected surrounding structures, including the bladder, urethra, rectum and pelvic neurovascular system. The approach was designed to reduce the risk of long-term complications affecting urinary and sexual function.
Dual Console is among the most advanced and complex techniques, and a technological advantage of the Da Vinci Xi that other robot platforms have yet to match in a synchronised and comprehensive way (Photo: Tam Anh General Hospital).
According to the hospital, the coordinated use of the two robotic consoles enabled more precise dissection of scar tissue, shortened the most technically demanding stages of the operation, reduced anaesthesia time and minimised blood loss.
The tumour was completely removed within 40 minutes, cutting operating time by around 70 per cent compared with a conventional robotic procedure. Doan was able to walk the day after surgery and was discharged in good health three days later.
Doan, centre, speaks with relatives on the afternoon of the surgery day (Photo: Tam Anh General Hospital).
Since Doan's operation, the hospital has successfully used the technique to treat five additional patients with kidney and bladder cancer. Two 66-year-old patients with stage IIIA prostate cancer, whose tumours had spread into surrounding tissue, also underwent successful tumour removal despite the complexity of their cases.
According to Intuitive Surgical, the US manufacturer of the Da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system, relatively few hospitals worldwide have the capability to perform Dual Console surgery. The technology requires advanced equipment, highly specialised surgical teams and rigorously standardised operating systems.
Tam Anh General Hospital said it is currently the first and only hospital in Vietnam to own two Da Vinci Xi surgical systems, valued at tens of millions of US dollars, and to have successfully implemented the Dual Console technique.
The hospital added that robotic surgery costs start from nearly USD 3,000 per procedure, placing its fees among the lowest globally. It said the price is around one-tenth of that charged in the United States and Singapore, and about half the cost in Thailand, while maintaining high clinical standards. Vietnamese patients are also eligible for reimbursement through the country's national health insurance scheme in accordance with existing regulations.