Catholic Medical Center has become one of a select number of hospitals worldwide to obtain the latest advancement in surgical technology - a surgical robot. The da Vinci® Intuitive Surgical Robotics System, the only surgical robot approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is considered to be revolutionizing surgery across the world. da Vinci surgery is used for in general and urological cases. Fewer than 100 hospitals worldwide have this technology.
How da Vinci® Operates
The three-armed da Vinci® sits on a console next to the patient. One arm contains a tiny camera; surgical instruments are attached to the two other arms. Inserted through one-centimeter incisions, the arms are guided by the surgeon, who sits at another console a few feet away. The surgeon's console offers a 3-D view of the procedure, with magnification up to 10 times. Using controls at his or her console, the surgeon is able to cut, clamp, and sew inside the body without needing to create the large incisions that are required to accommodate human hands.
Unlike standard laparoscopic surgery, in which instruments provide a mirror image of a surgeon's movements, up is down and left is right. The da Vinci® system exactly duplicates the full range of the surgeon's movements and is easier to operate.
Patients operated on with the da Vinci® system also benefit from less pain, fewer infections, a shorter hospital stay, and faster recovery.
da Vinci® Uses
Robotics is now used successfully in certain general and urological cases and has many applications in gynecological surgery. Surgeons at Catholic Medical Center will initially use the device during heart bypass surgery, alleviating the need to cut the patient's breastbone and retract the ribs. As the FDA approves more procedures, Catholic Medical Center expects to perform mitral valve surgery; single, double, and triple bypass procedures, and eventually beating heart endoscopic surgeries with the system.
Other surgical specialties at Catholic Medical Center will also soon be using da Vinci to perform minimally invasive general surgery procedures. The application lends itself well to several general surgeries, as well as urologic and gynecological procedures. A local spine surgeon is also developing protocols to utilize the robot for back surgery. Currently, the FDA has approved the system for surgical procedures including general and thoracic surgery, neurology, and some cardiac procedures; additional procedures are slated for FDA approval.