There's nothing unusual about Associate Professor Declan Murphy removing a 53-year-old's prostate cancer in a robot-assisted operation.
The Director of Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Robotic Surgery performs the procedure regularly.
But this time it was in front of a global audience as part of a 24-hour event, which live-streamed similar procedures from 10 institutions around the world.
“Not just are we broadcasting this surgery to other surgeons,” Associate Professor Murphy said. "But we're also making it wide open for the public to view and I suppose that reflects the interest that some members of the public have in watching medical procedures."
Using levers, Associate Professor Murphy ducked and weaved his hands, making delicate incisions in his patient’s bowel while looking through a high definition monitor.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
It's a feat of modern technology.
Robotic surgery 'less invasive' than open surgery
Director of Robotic Surgery at Epworth Health in Melbourne, Dr Daniel Moon, said robotic surgery provided more dexterity than keyhole surgery.
"Rather than having straight instruments, limited ergonomics and two dimensional vision," he said. "We now have an operating platform that gives us three dimensional high-definition digital vision, along with articulating instruments."
It also allowed patients like Tim Davis to recover more quickly.
“It was so quick, and going home the next day was great,” he said.
There are now about 30 surgical robot machines across Australia, and while the procedure is normally carried out in private hospitals, it is also available publically.
Since 2003, close to 15,000 Australians have now had robotic operations.
They were mostly used for patients with prostate, kidney or bladder cancer but that was not the limit.
"For other procedures, for rectal cancer, gynaecologic cancers, thoracic cancers," Associate Professor Murphy said, "it's evolving."
As well as learning from their colleagues, the live surgeries will also help train surgeons of the future.
"There's been a real global community or robotic surgeons," Dr Moon said. "They’re very eager to collaborate, to share techniques, share experiences, share results."
