Mediflex ENTrac retraction system (mediflex.com) Mediflex retractors (headneckroboticsurgery.com)
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Unpacking da Vinci 5… again
On December 17, 2025, I had the privilege of unpacking the first da Vinci surgical robot to arrive in Spain, at Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos. Today, I found myself opening the fifth da Vinci 5 system to arrive in Spain, now at HLA Hospital HLA Universitario Moncloa. I feel incredibly fortunate to have beenContinue reading “Unpacking da Vinci 5… again”
Twenty years of robotic surgery at Hospital Clínico San Carlos: a celebration and a reminder
In recent days, the Esther Koplowitz Foundation has highlighted the 20th anniversary of robotic surgery at Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid. A robotic surgical system is an extraordinarily expensive piece of equipment for any hospital. Yet there are different ways to make such technology available to patients. One of them is philanthropy. I haveContinue reading “Twenty years of robotic surgery at Hospital Clínico San Carlos: a celebration and a reminder”
AI in Otolaryngology-Head&Neck Surgery
Last week, during the annual meeting of the Asociación Madrileña de Otorrinolaringología (AMORL), the new monograph Artificial Intelligence in Otolaryngology: from the basics to the clinic was presented. We were honored to contribute a chapter on one of the most exciting and disruptive topics in modern surgery: autonomous robotic surgery. For decades, surgical robots haveContinue reading “AI in Otolaryngology-Head&Neck Surgery”
A surgical robot just finished an operation with almost total autonomy
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vincentius-liong_researchers-at-johns-hopkins-university-just-share-7474491472654974977-OvU6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAaUKucButenP1CHgqkcgkQeyI3-e_tNd1U Jun 22, 2026 Reference Kim JWB, Chen JT, Hansen P, Shi LX, Goldenberg A, Schmidgall S, Scheikl PM, Deguet A, White BM, Tsai R, Cha RJ, Jopling J, Finn C, Krieger A. SRT-H: A hierarchical framework for autonomous surgery via language-conditioned imitation learning. Sci Robot. 2025 Jul 9;10(104):eadt5254. doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.adt5254. More on AI &Continue reading “A surgical robot just finished an operation with almost total autonomy”
TransOral Robotic Supraglottic Laryngectomy 2026
Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) for supraglottic laryngectomy was the original vision behind the development of TORS by Greg Weinstein and Bert O’Malley more than twenty years ago. The idea was to achieve a precise oncologic resection through a minimally invasive approach that was more reproducible than Transoral Laser Microsurgery for complex cases. Recently, I haveContinue reading “TransOral Robotic Supraglottic Laryngectomy 2026”
Single-Port robotics: why Head&Neck surgeons are paying attention
Vall d’Hebron has announced the introduction of a new single-port robotic platform. The platform will initially be used in paediatric surgery, urology, and general surgery. Although the official communication does not specify the manufacturer, the platform is the Shurui system developed by the Chinese company Surgerii Robotics, a platform that we have discussed extensively onContinue reading “Single-Port robotics: why Head&Neck surgeons are paying attention”
Single Port Robotic Areolar (SPRA) thyroidectomy and neck dissection
In the upcoming SEORL-CCC Congress 2026 in Madrid we are presenting a comprehensive surgical video showcasing the Single-Port Robotic Areolar (SPRA) approach for a combined thyroidectomy and lateral neck dissection, with the pioneer of the technique, Jin Wook Yi. This recording demonstrates the full procedure step by step, including the creation and development of theContinue reading “Single Port Robotic Areolar (SPRA) thyroidectomy and neck dissection”
Cancelación acústica
Estos fueron mis primeros auriculares de cancelación acústica, Los de la foto. Unos Bose QuietComfort de hace más de veinte años. La función original fue amortiguar el ruido en la cabina de los aviones. Y efectivamente, esa es la sensación original: como si alguien hubiera bajado el volumen del mundo. La historia de la cancelaciónContinue reading “Cancelación acústica”
New Approaches in Head&Neck Surgery. Lisbon, Oct 30, 2026.
I am honored to have been invited as a speaker at the Research Meeting of the Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil (IPO Lisboa) on October 30, 2026, where I will participate in the meeting on “New Approaches in Head and Neck Surgery.” My sincere thanks to Miguel Vilares for the invitation andContinue reading “New Approaches in Head&Neck Surgery. Lisbon, Oct 30, 2026.”
