In a big leap for robotic surgery, doctors in Australia have pulled off a world-first procedure by pairing two advanced robotic systems to remove a throat tumor while preserving the patient’s ability to speak and swallow.
The landmark surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney marks a breakthrough in precision medicine, showing how integrating robotics can achieve outcomes once thought impossible.
Combining the da Vinci robot with the Symani robotic surgery system, surgeons at Australia’s largest not-for-profit health provider successfully operated on a 27-year-old man with a sarcoma in his throat, just above his voice box.
Robots preserve patient’s voice
The dual-robot setup allowed Professor Ben Dixon, Director of ENT/Head and Neck Surgery, to remove the tumor with the da Vinci robot while limiting disruption to the tongue, jaw, and larynx.
Immediately after, plastic and reconstructive surgeon Ed Morrison used the Symani system to perform delicate microsurgical repairs, transplanting tissue from the thigh and reconnecting vessels less than 1–1.5 millimeters wide.
The procedure meant Jordan avoided a total laryngectomy, which would have permanently removed his voice box and left him unable to speak.
Instead, the tumor was excised in full, and his larynx was preserved, allowing him to maintain near-normal speech and swallowing without the need for further treatment.
The achievement highlights the complementary strengths of the two systems: the da Vinci excels at minimally invasive resections, giving surgeons enhanced visibility and precision inside tight anatomical spaces, while the Symani robot specializes in microsurgery, translating hand movements into scaled-down actions for repairing tiny blood vessels and tissues.
St Vincent’s Hospital is the first in Australia to employ the Symani and has established a dedicated Clinical Microsurgery Robotic Unit to expand its applications.
So far, it is being used in breast reconstruction, sarcoma, and head and neck cancer surgeries, but doctors see vast potential for its role in other complex procedures where both accuracy and preservation of function are critical.
Future of surgical teamwork
One of the standout features of the Symani system is its ability to reduce surgeon fatigue during intricate operations. By translating hand movements into ultra-precise motions at a smaller scale, the robot helps eliminate tremors and strain that often limit the duration and accuracy of traditional microsurgery.
This makes it possible to perform procedures that require long hours of sustained precision without compromising outcomes.
The da Vinci robot, meanwhile, has become one of the most widely adopted surgical platforms worldwide, renowned for transforming minimally invasive surgery through enhanced dexterity and three-dimensional visualization.
Its integration with newer technologies like the Symani hints at a future where robotic platforms are not used in isolation but in synergy, expanding the possibilities of complex reconstructive and oncological surgeries.
For patients like Jordan, that future has already arrived. For the broader field of surgery, this world-first success in Sydney signals how robotic teamwork could redefine what is surgically possible.