〈Review〉Application of robot-assisted surgery in nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy for uterine cervical cancer

Abstract

In surgical treatment of gynecologic malignancies, especially in the establishment of radical hysterectomy for uterine cervical cancer, Japanese gynecologists have played pivotal role. In 1920s, Hidekazu Okabayashi, Gyn/Obstet. Professor of Kyoto Imperial University, modified the operative procedure of Professor Ernst Wertheim in Germany, and established radical hysterectomy, which is still widely used in current clinical practice.' While radiation therapy is relatively widely used in the treatment of cervical cancer in Western countries, in Japan, owing to the early prevalence of sophisticated operative procedure, the main stay of treatment for cervical cancer has been surgery. In the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kinki University, the first professor, an Emeritus Professor Kiichiro Noda, played an important role in the improvement of surgical procedure of radical hysterectomy.