Without a doubt, technological advances have been part of the development of human health and have impacted areas such as women’s health. For example, robotic surgery has made it possible to enter the field of gynecological oncology and offer benefits to Puerto Rican patients.
Robotic surgery is a procedure in which the surgeon remotely controls a surgical team to perform the procedure. For this surgery, the surgeon uses the platform Da Vinci, which allows you to operate a robot remotely while sitting at a console installed inside the operating room. The computerized system transforms the movement of the hands into robotic movements.
“[Este método] It makes it easier for us to do more precise surgery because the instruments have a greater range of motion. It eliminates the natural tremor that we have when we operate laparoscopically and allows us a little more comfort to perform longer and more complex surgeries, increasing the three-dimensional visualization of the organs”, explained Dr. Ricardo Gómez Martínez, gynecologist oncologist of the San Lucas Episcopal Medical Centerwhen talking about the benefits of this procedure.
The surgeon explained that, unlike conventional or laparoscopic surgery, robotic surgery uses small incisions in the abdomen, making it a minimally invasive surgery.
Within gynecological health, this procedure is used for benign surgeries and for those associated with cancer. This type of surgery treats symptomatic myomatous uterus, pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, evaluation of ovarian cysts and masses, treatment of cancer and premalignant lesions of the endometrium, premalignant lesions of the cervix, and evaluation of tumors and pelvic masses that are suspected of malignancy.
Any surgery that can be performed laparoscopically can also be assisted with a robotic platform. If the patient is a candidate for laparoscopic surgery, she may be a candidate for robotic surgery. In the case of benefits for patients, robotic surgery guarantees smaller incisions, less pain, shorter hospital stay, less bleeding and faster recovery, assured the doctor.
Gómez Martínez optimistically highlighted the success of this procedure to treat gynecological cancer with his patients in recent weeks. “All the cases we have done so far have been for the treatment of uterine cancer or precancerous lesions and so far all the cases have been successful,” he added. The surgeon hopes to be able to extend the robotic platform to other conditions and achieve favorable results for patients.
More doctors to treat this type of cancer
After having completed, in 2021, his training as a gynecological oncologist at the University of New Mexico, in the United States, Gómez Martínez returned to Puerto Rico to practice at the San Lucas Episcopal Medical Center.
“I want to stay in San Lucas offering my oncology gynecology services. I am trying to extend my services to all Puerto Rican women who have any suspicion or diagnosis of gynecological cancer,” the doctor confessed. Given the high incidence of clinical cancer in Puerto Rico, he assured that his services are “more than necessary.”
Gómez Martínez admitted that gynecological cancer in the United States and Puerto Rico is “rampant” and, as the population ages, the incidence of cancer increases. “There are few of us who are trained to provide this service. Training or access to it is limited,” he agreed.
The doctor recognized the difficulty of practicing medicine on the island, due to “all the problems that the health system has,” such as the exodus of doctors.
“We must stay in Puerto Rico to be able to take care of all generations, children, youth, adults, the elderly, and try to have a slightly healthier society,” he said.
To make an appointment with Dr. Gómez Martínez, you can call 787-290-2012. For more information, you can call 787-844-2080 or access www.sanlucaspr.org.