Yongin Severance Hospital has successfully carried out Gyeonggi Province’s first robot-assisted autologous tissue breast reconstruction, marking a major milestone in advanced breast cancer surgery, the hospital announced Thursday.
The procedure was performed on a patient who required breast reconstruction after undergoing a total mastectomy for breast cancer. Surgeons used the Da Vinci surgical robot to conduct a deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap reconstruction, a technique that rebuilds the breast using the patient’s own abdominal tissue.
Unlike conventional methods, the DIEP flap procedure preserves the abdominal muscle while harvesting only the necessary perforating blood vessels, significantly reducing damage at the donor site. By integrating robotic technology, surgeons were able to further minimize the incision in the rectus abdominis fascia to less than three centimeters, leading to less postoperative pain and a quicker recovery, according to the hospital.
The hospital’s Breast Reconstruction Team utilized the Da Vinci SP single-port system, which is designed to operate through a single small entry point. This approach allows surgeons to work within the narrow space between the rectus abdominis muscle and the peritoneum without making a peritoneal incision or using intra-abdominal gas, further limiting trauma to surrounding tissues.
However, the hospital noted that performing surgery in such confined anatomical spaces demands a high level of technical expertise and extensive surgical experience.
“Successfully performing this complex and relatively rare procedure in Korea is highly significant,” said Professor Han Woo-yeon of the Department of Plastic Surgery. “We will continue to advance minimally invasive breast reconstruction techniques to help patients recover more quickly and with less discomfort.”
The breakthrough positions Yongin Severance Hospital at the forefront of robotic-assisted reconstructive surgery in the region, offering new hope for breast cancer patients seeking safer and more effective reconstruction options.
