Melbourne surgeons rewrite cancer surgery with world-first robotics procedure

St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (SVHM) has become the first hospital in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific to introduce a novel robotic microsurgical platform. It now joins just 19 centres worldwide with access to the system.

In a world-first procedure, SVHM surgeons combined the Symani robotic system with the da Vinci robot to save the voice of Jordan, a 27-year-old man diagnosed with a sarcoma deep in his throat just above the voice box.

Initially, Jordan faced the prospect of a total laryngectomy – permanent removal of the voice box. Instead, the surgical team, led by Professor Ben Dixon, Director of ENT/Head and Neck Surgery, and Dr Ed Morrison, Plastics and Reconstructive Surgeon, preserved his larynx while completely removing the tumour. Jordan retains his ability to speak and requires no further treatment.

The Symani system, developed by Medical Microinstruments (MMI) and distributed in Australia by Device Technologies, is a robotic platform designed for super-microsurgery on vessels smaller than 1mm in diameter – a level of precision beyond the reach of the da Vinci system. Its features include motion scaling, tremor elimination, and miniaturised instruments for ultra-fine surgical movements.

During the procedure, the da Vinci robot enabled Professor Dixon to make controlled internal throat incisions, safely removing the tumour while minimising disruption to critical structures including the tongue, jaw and larynx. With access limited to a small neck incision, the surgery resulted in minimal scarring and near-normal long-term function.

Following resection, the Symani robot allowed Dr Morrison to repair blood vessels less than 1–1.5mm wide with extraordinary precision. Using transplanted tissue from the thigh, he achieved a multi-layered closure of the hypopharynx and resuspension of the larynx, restoring Jordan’s ability to speak and swallow almost normally.

Without the precision and accuracy provided by these robotic systems working together, Jordan would have lost his voice box, but instead he is back to his old life, according to the surgeons.

Through its newly created Clinical Microsurgery Robotic Unit, SVHM is already using Symani in breast reconstruction, sarcoma surgery, and head and neck cancer reconstruction. Clinicians see significant potential for expanding its use into other surgical specialties.

Beyond increasing surgical accuracy and reaching previously inaccessible areas, Symani also reduces surgeon fatigue by improving efficiency. For patients, it means fewer operations are needed to achieve the same or better outcomes.

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