2025 Volume 41 Issue 1 Pages 202-205
Objective: This study aimed to investigate a newly developed ALLY Uterine Positioning SystemTM. ALLY is a device that supports uterine and vaginal holding performed by a second assistant in gynecologic laparoscopic or robot-assisted surgery and is expected to reduce the workload of the second assistant and enable the surgery to proceed even in the absence of a second assistant.
Materials and Methods: We interviewed physicians (primary surgeons and second assistants) about their experiences and opinions of using ALLY. Using videos, we reviewed the time required by the second assistant to operate the uterine manipulator and compared cases that did and did not use ALLY.
A questionnaire regarding the second assistant was sent to young physicians, both internal and external to the hospital.
Results: One physician mentioned that using ALLY stabilized the surgical field and allowed surgeries to be performed without a second assistant. Another reported that ALLY gave second assistants an opportunity to learn by participating in discussions. With ALLY, the second assistant was required for approximately 1/12th of the typical time in a total hysterectomy. About half of the young physicians who responded to the questionnaire reported that they had previously experienced pain and physical fatigue from performing manual procedures and operations.
Conclusion: The ALLY system may contribute to safety by providing stabilization of the surgical field and can reduce the workload of second assistants in surgeries. Further, it can help physicians focus on learning and allow surgeries without a second assistant to be conducted.
