The usefulness of Hinotori™ which is a surgical support robot system developed in Japan and a challenging case of robot-assisted surgery
With the worldwide spread of robotic surgery, its indications are expanding in all surgical fields. In Japan, the introduction of robot-assisted surgery in the field of urology was relatively early, and the technical skills of the surgeons seem to have been refined. In 2020, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. released Hinotori™ which is the first surgical robot system domestically made in Japan, and it has been applied to various surgical procedures in the field of urology.
Regarding the surgical outcomes using Hinotori™, Motoyama et al. (1) reported nephroureterectomy, Hayashi et al. (2) reported robot-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion, and Nakayama et al. (3) reported radical prostatectomy.
As a challenging case, Takahata et al. (4), Ohba et al. (5) and Shiode et al. (6) reported the usefulness of robot-assisted radical nephrectomy with therombectomy for renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombosis in the inferior vena cava. Kamei et al. (7) reviewed total pelvic exenteration using robot-assisted surgery and mentioned novel possibilities of robot-assisted surgery. Although there are currently no high-volume centers for robot-assisted radical cystectomy in Japan, Inoue et al. (8) reported the results of surgery at an institution with a small number of cases per year.
I hope this series will provide readers with an opportunity to obtain useful insights regarding robot-assisted surgeries.
Acknowledgments
Funding: None.
Footnote
Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Translational Cancer Research for the series “Current Status of Robotic Surgery for Genitourinary Diseases in Japan”. The article did not undergo external peer review.
Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tcr.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tcr-24-1735/coif). The series “Current Status of Robotic Surgery for Genitourinary Diseases in Japan” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. T.K. served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series and serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Translational Cancer Research from July 2024 to December 2026. The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
References
- Motoyama D, Matsushita Y, Watanabe H, et al. Robot-assisted radical nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract tumor: initial experience with the use of novel surgical robot system, hinotori. Transl Cancer Res 2023;12:3522-9. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Hayashi T, Kitano H, Hieda K, et al. First case report of robot-assisted radical cystectomy and intracorporeal urinary diversion using the hinotori Surgical Robot System. Transl Cancer Res 2024;13:471-9. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Nakayama A, Izumi K, Ikezoe E, et al. Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy using the novel hinotori(TM) surgical robot system: initial experience and operation learning curve at a single institution. Transl Cancer Res 2024;13:57-64. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Takahara K, Takenaka M, Zennami K, et al. Robot-assisted radical nephrectomy with inferior vena cava thrombectomy: a case report. Transl Cancer Res 2023;12:3792-8. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Ohba K, Mitsunari K, Nakanishi H, et al. Initial experience in robot-associated radical nephrectomy with inferior vena cava tumor thrombectomy. Transl Cancer Res 2023;12:3425-31. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Shiode R, Noda T, Nobumori S, et al. A case report of robot-assisted radical nephrectomy and inferior vena cava thrombectomy in a patient with renal cell carcinoma after pembrolizumab and axitinib combination therapy. Transl Cancer Res 2024;13:5141-8. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Kamei J, Fujimura T. Current status of robot-assisted total pelvic exenteration focusing on the field of urology: a clinical practice review. Transl Cancer Res 2024;13:453-61. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Inoue T, Kato M, Sasaki T, et al. Postoperative complications and determinant of selecting non intracorporeal urinary diversion in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy: an initial experience. Transl Cancer Res 2024;13:46-56. [Crossref] [PubMed]
