Revolutionary robotic surgery aims to preserve erections

Goodbye, flop era!

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States, aside from skin cancer. About 13% of male Americans will get it – and the treatment often carries the risk of erectile dysfunction.

Relief is coming – the world’s first dual-robotic surgery to remove a prostate gland was performed last month in Texas. This revolutionary approach aims to preserve the nerves that control erectile function.

“We have magnetic technology that allows for better tissue retraction and better visualization,” Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, founder and CEO of Levita Magnetics, told the Post.

“In the case of the prostate, it might lead to a better surgeon seeing the nerve bundles,” Rodriguez-Navarro continued. “Nerves are very important because they are linked to incontinence, such as urinary incontinence, as well as sexual function, so preserving these nerves is critical.”

Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu first used the Da Vinci single-port robotic system and Levita’s Mars platform to remove the prostate of a 67-year-old man with stage 2 prostate cancer at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The dual method reduces the number of incisions, resulting in less pain, fewer complications, faster recovery and less scarring.

“Technologies that are made by different companies are generally not made to work together… but we can work together, which was cool about that,” said Cadeddu, a urologist, professor and member of Levita’s medical advisory board.

In a robotic prostatectomy, a urologist does five or Six small incisions in the lower stomach area to insert miniature surgical tools and a camera to access and remove the prostate gland.

The Da Vinci Single Port, launched in the United States in 2018 through intuitive surgery, requires only a small incision because the camera and three instruments are grouped into a shaft.

The single-arm design – which Cadeddu likens to an octopus – allows for a greater range of motion and minimizes collisions between instruments.

The DA Vinci provides deep, narrow access to tissue, while the Mars system uses magnetic forces for precise retraction and manipulation of internal organs.

An external magnet on the patient’s skin controls a magnetic gasper inside the body.

“The actual cutting of the prostate is done by the (Da Vinci) Robot, but the manipulation of the adjacent tissue is done by the Mars magnetic robot,” Cadeddu explained. “Marrying the two operations in one – two robots, one controlling the grasper, one controlling the scissors and the dissection by the surgeon – that’s the new thing.”

Mars, launched in 2023, has been used independently for weight loss surgeries, gallbladder removals and colorectal procedures.

The plan is to use dual technology in surgeries beyond prostate removal and expand to other locations. Rodriguez-Navarro hopes to implement the technique in New York hospitals this year.

“We’re just getting started,” he said. “The idea is that we put this in the hands of all surgeons in the United States and also globally.”