DUBLIN and AALST, Belgium, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, and OLV Hospital Aalst today announced that the first clinical procedure in Europe was performed with the Hugo™ robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system. The robotic prostatectomy was performed by Prof. Alexandre Mottrie, M.D., head of urology at OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, and chief executive officer and founder of the Belgium-based ORSI Academy, a multidisciplinary center for training, research and development, and data analysis to improve minimally invasive surgery best practices.

"Performing Europe's very first procedure with the Hugo RAS system is a career highlight for me," said Dr. Mottrie. "With more than two decades and 4,000 robotic-assisted surgery procedures under my belt, I am intimately aware of the barriers that have kept the benefits of surgical robotics from physicians, hospitals, and patients. Now, I believe we are entering a new era filled with greater access and flexibility."

A form of minimally invasive surgery, robotic-assisted surgery offers fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, faster return to normal activities, and smaller scars than open surgery.1–3,†
"This is an exciting and important moment for healthcare in Europe and we're proud to share it with Dr. Mottrie and the team at OLV," said Megan Rosengarten, president of the Surgical Robotics business, which is part of the Medical Surgical Portfolio at Medtronic. "Dr. Mottrie has left a meaningful mark on our program over the many years we've worked together, and now, through our partnership with OLV, Medtronic's journey to bring the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to more patients in Europe is well underway."

The Hugo RAS system — Medtronic's solution to historic cost and utilization barriers that have kept surgical robotics out of reach for many hospitals — is a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for a broad range of soft-tissue procedures. It combines wristed instruments, 3D visualization, and Touch Surgery™ Enterprise, a cloud-based surgical video capture and management solution, with dedicated support teams specializing in robotics program optimization, service, and training.

In 2021, Medtronic announced the first urologic and gynecologic procedures with the Hugo system in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Those procedures and cases in Europe will become part of the Hugo RAS system patient registry, which is collecting clinical data to support regulatory submissions around the world.

Operating Room Homepage