Men undergoing a prostatectomy will no longer have to go abroad for surgery after Mater Dei Hospital invested in a €4million robot 'assistant'.
Malta's hospital is one of the 500 - out of a total of 10,000 European hospitals - which now hosts this robot.
The robot is not autonomous, but it will allow surgeons to carry out the intervention with more precision, according to Head of Surgery Gordon Caruana Dingli.
Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the robot will in no way undermine the competence of the local medical staff, but only improve the already high quality of their services. The robot, he added, was only an extension of the surgeon.
For now, the robot will benefit men undergoing a prostatectomy – of whom there are around 30 each year.
Eventually, gynaecology, ENT (ear, nose and throat) and liver keyhole surgeries will also be carried out with the help of this robot.