Atia Ali, a Logan resident, successfully conceived and gave birth to her first child after more than five years of trying multiple fertility treatments, thanks to a successful robot-assisted operation at Greenslopes Private Hospital.
The surgery, recommended by fertility specialist Dr Clare Boothroyd, involved the use of state-of-the-art da Vinci robotic surgical system to remove the painful fibroids that affect Atia’s fertility. It comes with robotic arms that hold the small surgical instruments and a small video camera, which transmits a magnified 3D video image of the uterus onto a screen.
Just four months later, Atia and her husband Kiba Aoci were surprised to learn that they were expecting and finally, on 1 February, 2021, they welcomed their daughter Afsa Rahima. Afsa, whose name means “clear mercy” in Sudanese, was born via caesarean section.
It’s the first in Greenslopes, but it’s not certainly going to be the last, because the hospital is expecting to welcome three more babies in 2021 from mothers who have had fertility surgery via the da Vinci robot.
In an interview with Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA), Dr Boothroyd shared it’s the most exciting development in technology for gynaecological surgery throughout her career. She has over 20 years experience in both endocrinology and gynaecology and is the only one of four clinicians in Queensland to hold the prestigious Certificate of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI).
“It makes difficult surgery easier, it can reduce a patient’s length of stay and can reduce their pain, plus it can facilitate natural conception and reduce the need for IVF,” she told APHA.
Dr Boothroyd said the magnification of the device is good and the dexterity of the instruments allows meticulous placement of sutures which the uterus needs if it’s going to carry a pregnancy.
Greenslopes Private Hospital was the first hospital in Queensland to use the technology in December 2008 when they performed a robotic prostatectomy. Since then, it has continued to grow and is now used in other specialties including gynecology and general surgery. This year will mark the 13-year anniversary of the use of robotic surgery at Greenslopes Private Hospital.