History had been made! The first ever eye operation carried out from start to finish with a robot was carried out last week at the Eye Hospital in Rotterdam.

Successful operation in Rotterdam

For the first time ever, a whole operation, namely retina surgery, has been carried out with a robot. The surgery was medically successful, with the patient being the first to be operated on in such a way. Surgeries of this kind are usually done by hand by a small group of specialised eye surgeons.

Using the robot as a kind of “third hand” for the surgeon, eye surgeries can be carried out more safely and precisely. It is safe to say that the eye surgeons are very happy with the robot!

The future of eye surgeries

In the near future, the robot could perform surgeries which are impossible at this moment in time, such as treatments which involve delivering medication to extremely tiny blood vessels behind the eye. Such treatments could allow doctors to delay the loss of sight or prevent blindness completely. 

The Rotterdam Eye Hospital began testing the robot last year. In Oxford, England, the robot was also used in an operation, but only for a part of it, rather than the whole operation.