Ramsay Newsroom

Wollongong Private Hospital has now further expanded its robotic capabilities to offer Illawarra patients the option of robotic assisted head and neck procedures. The system will now be used for the removal of malignant or benign tumours of the throat, tongue and tonsils, as well as complex tonsil cases.

Previously, patients would have been required to undergo open surgery – an invasive procedure which requires a large incision from the lip to the neck in order to split open the jaw to allow access to the mouth and throat. 

Now, using the da Vinci Xi, surgeons can complete a far less invasive procedure – through transoral robotic surgery (TORS) – with no incisions necessary to remove tumours of the oropharynx.

Dr Stephen Pearson, ENT Surgeon, successfully performed the region’s first robotic assisted tonsillectomy in June 2019.