In a major milestone for surgical innovation, the first clinical cases using a revolutionary robotic microsurgery system were successfully completed in the United States. Medical Microinstruments (MMI), a pioneering company based in Pisa, Italy, announced that its Symani Surgical System was deployed for two complex reconstructive microsurgeries at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.

The Symani system, which received FDA de novo classification in April 2023 after securing a CE mark in the European Union back in 2019, is a game-changer in the field of microsurgery. Designed to help surgeons operate on delicate anatomical structures with unprecedented precision, the system has already been used in nearly 1,000 clinical cases across Europe.

At Penn Presbyterian, the surgical team employed the Symani system to perform two intricate procedures that highlight the system's capabilities. In the first case, a patient who had suffered a traumatic injury underwent a "free bone transfer" operation. This complex microsurgery involved taking a segment of bone and skin from the patient's leg and transferring it to a damaged bone in the forearm. Using Symani's cutting-edge robotic instrumentation, the surgical team was able to reconnect the tiny blood vessels with extreme precision, facilitating a successful revascularization and tissue transfer.

The second case involved a patient at risk of leg amputation due to an infected knee prosthesis coupled with soft tissue deficiency. Here, the Symani system enabled the surgeons to repair the severe knee wound by transferring muscle and skin from the patient's back and robotically reconnecting the intricate blood vessel network. This advanced microsurgical procedure aims to promote revascularization and prevent the need for amputation.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era in surgical innovation," declared Mark Toland, CEO of MMI. "Patients across the country with conditions that require complex microsurgical techniques, such as extremity reconstruction, autologous breast reconstruction post cancer resection and lymphedema repair, will now have expanded access to treatment options."

The key to Symani's unprecedented capabilities lies in its novel NanoWrist instruments. Designed to operate on incredibly small scales, these robotic instruments can access and suture delicate anatomies like veins, arteries, nerves, and lymphatic vessels as small as 0.3mm in diameter. Featuring seven degrees of freedom that mimic the human wrist's range of motion, the NanoWrist instruments also provide motion scaling and tremor reduction, enabling surgeons to perform precise micro-movements that would be impossible with the naked human hand.

With over $200 million raised, including a $110 million Series C round in February 2023 and a $75 million Series B round in 2022, MMI is well-positioned to drive the adoption of its groundbreaking Symani Surgical System across the United States and beyond. The successful first clinical cases at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center mark a pivotal moment in the global expansion of robotic microsurgery, ushering in a new era of surgical precision and innovation that could improve outcomes for patients worldwide.