Noemi is ten, an adorable little girl who is an ace at rhythmic gymnastics - but was thrown off course at short notice by a hernia. This is the first time that a robot has been used on this little patient at the pediatric surgery department in Graz. "We weren't enthusiastic about the idea at first," explains the mother. "We were worried that we would be a bit of guinea pigs."

But mom and daughter, who are present at the robot's presentation, are completely satisfied with the result. "We were able to go home the day after the operation." And four weeks later, the little girl is in top shape. "I'm already jumping around again." Her schoolmates would have been less than impressed by the use of the robot. "But they carried my school bag," laughs Noemi.

Robot has three arms
The robot is a sensation in pediatric surgery and is set to usher in a new pioneering era: It is the first to be approved for young patients (from 12 months), works with three robotic arms, has its Austrian premiere in Graz - and there are currently only twelve of them in the world. It comes with a hefty price tag: the high-tech device, which costs 1.5 million euros a month to rent, refines the surgeon's hand even further, as Holger Till, Head of Pediatric Surgery, explains. Wounds would be smaller, healing processes faster, "we can control movements better," says Vanessa Wolfschluckner, a paediatric surgeon who specializes in the robot.

Two teams have specialized
50 to 100 of the 4300 pediatric surgical procedures a year could be performed with this robotic aid; more is not (yet) possible due to the personnel capacities - two teams are currently trained for this. Operations in and around the abdomen, such as hernias, appendicitis, reflux, etc., are possible.

Launched
Incidentally, Prof. Till and his team had a really nice surprise for Noemi: because she was the first, the robot was named "Noemi". "I think it's great," beamed the little girl.

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