State-of-the-art Navigation System for ENT Surgery

Google Maps for Surgeons

A state-of-the-art navigation system makes delicate ENT operations even safer and more efficient. All operations in the area of the paranasal sinuses and the anterior skull base are usually performed using minimally invasive techniques nowadays. This means that the surgeon operates with endoscopes and high-resolution camera systems via the nostrils using various instruments. However, this is a delicate procedure. Many sensitive structures are located very close to each other in this region of the head. This type of surgery therefore requires a high degree of precision and thoroughness. This is particularly true in the case of pronounced inflammatory processes with polyps or involvement of the frontal sinus.

High Degree of Precision at the Wiener Privatklinik with a State-of-the-art Navigation System

At the Wiener Privatklinik (WPK), doctors have a state-of-the-art navigation system at their disposal. This makes it possible to operate even more safely than before. “It’s like Google Maps for surgeons,” compares Priv.-Doz. Dr. Erich Vyskocil, one of the renowned ear, nose and throat specialists working at the WPK. The computer-assisted navigation system uses navigation probes to show the surgeon where he is in the operating area with precise accuracy and in real time. “This leads to an optimization of safety, a reduction in complications and shorter operating times,” affirms Dr. Vyskozil.

Increased patient safety

“The navigation system gives me the opportunity to check in real time how close I am to sensitive structures and whether there is still a safe margin for removing pathological tissue,” explains Dr. Vyskocil. Such a navigation system increases safety for patients, but is of course no substitute for the surgeon’s anatomical knowledge and surgical training. “The responsibility always lies with the surgeon,” emphasizes the physician: “A navigation system is not a self-driving car.”

At university hospitals and specialized centers, the use of a navigation system is the technical gold standard for operations to treat complicated chronic sinusitis (with or without polyps) or tumours of the anterior skull base. It is by no means a matter of course that a hospital like the WPK has such a system.