REVO

“Choosing Revo-i is an investment in the development potential of domestic products.”

Expect more than 500 cases per year... The role of current robotic surgery medical staff is important for the success of future robotic surgery advancement.

Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center Director Jae Hyeok Jeong expects to leap forward as the best surgical robot institution by specializing in the strengths of Revo-i.

Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center in Busan, which is leading the field of obstetrics and gynecology in Busan, has performed more than 3,000 gynecological surgeries per year, and performed more than 1,000 laparoscopic surgeries per year, recently introduced a surgical robot. The surgical robot introduced by Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center is not the da Vinci of Intuitive, which currently monopolizes the global market, but the ‘Revo-i’ developed by meerecompany with purely domestic technology.

Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center, a representative hospital for obstetrics and gynecology in the Busan region, is expected to provide an opportunity for Revo-i to take a leap forward. In particular, the introduction of Revo-i by Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center is expected to have a significant impact on other hospitals in Busan. Furthermore, it is expected to serve as an opportunity to improve awareness of domestic surgical robots. We recently met Jae Hyeok Jeong, Director of Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center, and had time to hear about the reason for choosing ‘Revo-i’ and future plans.

“The reason why we chose meerecompany’s surgical robot ‘Revo-i’ was because we had a belief that domestic companies should develop. In particular, Korea can develop further in robot technology and artificial intelligence.

Therefore, choosing Revo-i is an investment in a domestic products. Of course, it was also a consideration that the Revo-i is now almost on par with da Vinci technically.”

Differences depending on the doctor performing the operation rather than the type of surgical robot... Skilled doctors, Revo-i is suitable

Director Jae Hyeok Jeong explained the reason for choosing meerecompany’s ‘Revo-i’ as the first surgical robot.

According to Director Jeong, about three years ago, Revo-i had a slight technological difference compared to da Vinci. To compare it to a car, he compared it to ‘Grandeur’ and ‘Morning’.

But now, Revo-i has developed so much that it has become a relationship like ‘passenger car’ and ‘RV’.

He said In particular, da Vinci can operate only within the surgical range set by the company, and is expensive and requires a lot of replacement costs in terms of consumables, whereas Revo-i is economical, with consumables costing half of da Vinci, so consumables can be used sufficiently and it can be applied to various surgeries.

Director Jeong explained, “There are many ways to get from Busan to Seoul, but meet various roads, not always on good paved roads. Revo-i has the advantage of being able to go anywhere on and off-road like an RV.” 

Also, “It is the medical staff who operate the surgical robot, and in the end, the surgeon who operates it, is the most important. The surgical results vary depending on the skill of the surgeon, but Revo-i is much more suitable for skilled surgeons,” emphasized Dr. Jeong. 

There is a high possibility of developing domestic surgical robots... Focusing on high-difficulty surgery

However, he made it clear that meerecompany’s ceaseless efforts are important for Revo-i to be selected by medical staff domestically and abroad.

Director Jeong predicted that the introduction of Revo-i by Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center would be an opportunity for Revo-i to leap forward nationwide beyond Busan. Director Jeong, who chose Revo-i because it has the same function as an RV that can go both on and off-road, said that full-scale robotic surgery using Revo-i will soon be possible. 

According to Director Jeong, the surgery using Revo-i will be performed primarily in the obstetrics and gynecology department. Simple surgeries will be performed as conventional surgeries, and Revo-i will be used for surgeries that take a long operation time, such as multiple uterine fibroids or surgeries over 10 cm in size. In particular, it is expected that Revo-i will be actively used in deep endometriosis.

Active efforts to nurture future talent, such as the establishment of a center specializing in robotic surgery

Beyond performing surgery by introducing Revo-i, Director Jeong plans to actively strive to nurture talents who will be responsible for future medical care by establishing a ‘robotic surgery center’ to provide robotic surgery training to domestic medical staff.

He predicted, “Robotic surgery will be used more by specialists as they get older.” He said, “With the introduction of Revo-i at Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center, we will establish a ‘Robotic Surgery Education Center’ so that anyone can easily receive education and learn robotic surgery skills.”

Director Jeong raised his voice, saying that the success of future robotic surgery development depends on the role of medical staff currently performing robotic surgery.

Director Jeong said, “If better surgical results are obtained through robotic surgery, more patients will naturally want robotic surgery and more surgeries will be performed. The current robotic surgery is similar to the early days when the laparoscope was introduced.”

When laparoscopy was first introduced, there were many doctors who were reluctant to perform the procedure, but it gradually became active, became popular, and developed further, and now it is performed with a single hole.

Therefore, doctors who currently perform robotic surgery must produce better results so that robot surgery can be more active in the next generation.

The hospital director who receives calls 365 days a year... I have never been on vacation for more than a week

For the past 10 years, Director Jeong has never been on vacation for more than a week.

He directly receives calls from his patients 365 days a year. That’s why he goes to work even on Sundays and holidays to take care of patients. Regarding the reason for working even on holidays, Director Jeong said, “If you take care of patients, their condition gets much better. I hope that the patient will recover quickly and review the parts that other doctors may have missed, and that the patient will be discharged as cleanly as possible.”

Director Jeong, who says that being a doctor is a very blessed profession because he can help others, described it as “a kind of drug” when patients say thank you.

I could see the appearance of a ‘heavenly doctor’ in Director Jeong’s face, who said that he could never get out of it because he felt worthwhile watching the patients recover.

A ‘heavenly doctor’ who feels the greatest satisfaction in patient recovery... Doctors are blessed professions

Currently, Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center has 120 beds and 18 medical staff. This is the largest hospital for obstetrics and gynecology in Busan, excluding Ilsin Christian Hospital and Moonhwa Hospital. 

Director Jeong said the goal of Yeonje Ilsin Medical Center is ‘Patient’s well-being’.

“My personal goal is for sick patients to find our hospital and leave with good results,” he said. Also, he said, “I want all patients to be treated well, and I hope that all patients will achieve good results not only in obstetrics and gynecology, but also in internal medicine, paediatrics, and surgery.”

Director Jeong, who thinks the ‘patient’s recovery’ is the most important, said, “I am doing my best to relieve the patient’s discomfort. Patient discomfort can be pain or a tumor in the ovary or uterus. Whatever it is, getting rid of it is the most important thing.” “Especially, we are focusing on the surgery and treating patients so that those who have undergone surgery once will not have to undergo surgery again,” he emphasized.