LINC 2025, Leipzig, Germany – Lecture on robotic vascular surgery.
What was presented at LINC 2025 on robotic vascular surgery?
LINC (Leipzig Interventional Course) is one of the largest international conferences in endovascular surgery. At the 2025 event in Leipzig, Germany, Prof. Theodosios Bisdas gave a talk on robotic vascular surgery.
Robotic assistance is one of the latest developments in Endovascular Surgery, which is based on the use of special instruments introduced into the vessel through a small incision in the skin.
What is robotic assistance in the vessels?
Robotic navigation of catheters offers stability and millimetre accuracy, while reducing radiation exposure for the patient and hybrid operating room, it allows particularly complex vascular conditions to be treated in a minimally invasive way.
Conditions Treated with Endovascular Surgery
The endovascular techniques discussed concern mainly aortic aneurysms και την peripheral arterial disease, where the precision of the navigation determines the outcome.
What does it mean for the patient?
Precision in navigating the catheters reduces the duration of the procedure and the amount of contrast medium. This matters particularly in patients with impaired renal function, where contrast must be kept to a minimum. Reduced radiation benefits both the patient and the staff who are in the room every day.
Where are the procedures performed?
The procedures are performed in the IGS7 hybrid operating room (GE Healthcare) of the Athens Medical Center, where Prof. Theodosios Bisdas directs the 3rd Vascular Surgery Department. The room combines imaging and navigation equipment inside the vessels with the aseptic conditions of a conventional operating theatre, so that open and endovascular techniques can be applied in the same procedure.
Robotic vascular surgery is still at an early stage internationally and its application is limited to centres with the appropriate infrastructure. LINC is the forum where such developments are presented before they become established in clinical practice, with the participation of vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists from around the world. See also the pioneering procedures that have been performed in Greece.
