Korea University Guro Hospital Launches Epilepsy Robot Surgery by Ministry of Health and Welfare 'Surgical Robot Equipment Support Agency'
Nov 05, 2024
Korea University Guro Hospital (Hospital Director Chung Hee-jin) has been selected by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a support institution for epilepsy surgical robot equipment and will start performing epilepsy robotic surgery.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has selected hospitals with expertise in epilepsy surgery to resolve epilepsy treatment blind spots and has been conducting a project to support surgical robot equipment. Korea University Guro Hospital, which has an epilepsy surgery team, was selected as a supporting institution with a wide range of infrastructure for treating epilepsy, including more than 15 years of experience in treating intractable epilepsy and a solid multidisciplinary system between various medical departments.
The number of epilepsy patients in Korea is estimated to be about 300,000 to 400,000 people, and the number of new patients that occur every year reaches 20,000 to 30,000. About 20-30% of epilepsy patients suffer from persistent symptoms of convulsive seizures despite receiving two or more appropriate drug treatments, and the financial burden is high due to frequent inpatient treatment as well as drug costs.
If you operate with an epilepsy surgical robot, you can safely and accurately perform electrode insertion to identify the area where epilepsy occurs, enabling safe treatment without side effects. However, there are only a few specialized medical staff in Korea who can perform epilepsy surgery and have to be supported by precision diagnostic equipment, so there are a few hospitals in Korea that can perform epilepsy robotic surgery.
Korea University Guro Hospital has been performing incurable epilepsy surgery with close multidisciplinary cooperation between neurologists, pediatric neurologists, and detailed neurologists in radiology as well as neurosurgery that conducts surgery. It operates an organic multidisciplinary epilepsy network with intractable epilepsy treatment and surgical capabilities, including a surgical nursing team specializing in neurosurgical surgery, a medical technician for neurophysiological monitoring during surgery or EEG monitoring during surgery, and a clinical pathologist for video EEG. In addition, it has a state-of-the-art navigation system for stable and high-quality surgery, a surgical microscope, various EEG testing equipment for quantitative analysis of EEG, and a gamma knife that can treat non-surgical brain lesions.
Professor Kim Jong-hyun of neurosurgery at Korea University Guro Hospital, who conducts epilepsy robotic surgery, said, `If you undergo epilepsy surgery under a precise plan through multidisciplinary treatment, about half of you can expect to be cured, and even if you are not cured, your symptoms will improve significantly and you can return to your daily life.' `We hope to improve the quality of life of patients with refractory epilepsy who could not be treated with conventional surgical methods by utilizing epilepsy robotic surgery equipment.'
Meanwhile, Professor Kim Jong-hyun of neurosurgery at Korea University Guro Hospital has been treating epilepsy and Parkinson's disease with surgery since the mid-2000s based on his know-how and skills in the field of brain stereotactic function at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States for many years. He also co-wrote textbooks for neurosurgeons around the world and participated in setting treatment guidelines for surgery such as epilepsy lesion resection, and is currently the president of the Korean Society of Neurosurgery.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has selected hospitals with expertise in epilepsy surgery to resolve epilepsy treatment blind spots and has been conducting a project to support surgical robot equipment. Korea University Guro Hospital, which has an epilepsy surgery team, was selected as a supporting institution with a wide range of infrastructure for treating epilepsy, including more than 15 years of experience in treating intractable epilepsy and a solid multidisciplinary system between various medical departments.
The number of epilepsy patients in Korea is estimated to be about 300,000 to 400,000 people, and the number of new patients that occur every year reaches 20,000 to 30,000. About 20-30% of epilepsy patients suffer from persistent symptoms of convulsive seizures despite receiving two or more appropriate drug treatments, and the financial burden is high due to frequent inpatient treatment as well as drug costs.
If you operate with an epilepsy surgical robot, you can safely and accurately perform electrode insertion to identify the area where epilepsy occurs, enabling safe treatment without side effects. However, there are only a few specialized medical staff in Korea who can perform epilepsy surgery and have to be supported by precision diagnostic equipment, so there are a few hospitals in Korea that can perform epilepsy robotic surgery.
Korea University Guro Hospital has been performing incurable epilepsy surgery with close multidisciplinary cooperation between neurologists, pediatric neurologists, and detailed neurologists in radiology as well as neurosurgery that conducts surgery. It operates an organic multidisciplinary epilepsy network with intractable epilepsy treatment and surgical capabilities, including a surgical nursing team specializing in neurosurgical surgery, a medical technician for neurophysiological monitoring during surgery or EEG monitoring during surgery, and a clinical pathologist for video EEG. In addition, it has a state-of-the-art navigation system for stable and high-quality surgery, a surgical microscope, various EEG testing equipment for quantitative analysis of EEG, and a gamma knife that can treat non-surgical brain lesions.
Professor Kim Jong-hyun of neurosurgery at Korea University Guro Hospital, who conducts epilepsy robotic surgery, said, `If you undergo epilepsy surgery under a precise plan through multidisciplinary treatment, about half of you can expect to be cured, and even if you are not cured, your symptoms will improve significantly and you can return to your daily life.' `We hope to improve the quality of life of patients with refractory epilepsy who could not be treated with conventional surgical methods by utilizing epilepsy robotic surgery equipment.'
Meanwhile, Professor Kim Jong-hyun of neurosurgery at Korea University Guro Hospital has been treating epilepsy and Parkinson's disease with surgery since the mid-2000s based on his know-how and skills in the field of brain stereotactic function at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States for many years. He also co-wrote textbooks for neurosurgeons around the world and participated in setting treatment guidelines for surgery such as epilepsy lesion resection, and is currently the president of the Korean Society of Neurosurgery.
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