Using Robotics Means Less Pain, Less Cutting in Surgery

For many people, the idea of using a robot to perform surgery is something out of a science fiction movie. But, the technology has actually been around for some time now. It is a minimally invasive technique that helps surgeons perform long, complicated operations with great accuracy and without getting tired. The robot also gives us access to areas of the body too narrow for our hands to reach, a feature that is especially helpful with obese patients.

The procedure involves inserting two robotic arms and a camera into the body through tiny incisions. The surgeon sits at a console and controls the robot’s arms remotely. Each year, we perform almost 350 robotic surgeries and the results are amazing—less risk, less pain, and shorter recovery times for patients.

 While it is hard to believe that that an already superior technology could get any better, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital recently became the first in the north and northwest suburbs to offer the most advance robotic surgery system available today—the da Vinci-Si Surgical System® with Firefly module and Skills Simulator.

What does this mean for patients?

Improved outcomes

With the new robot, we can perform aggressive operations that could save a patient’s life or significantly change their prognosis. For example, I recently treated a man with advanced rectal cancer. Before the new technology was available, he would likely have had to undergo a traditional operation and live the rest of his life with a colostomy bag. The da Vinci-Si system allowed my surgical team to reach and remove the entire tumor and perform a very complex reconstruction. As a result, the man was able to resume normal function within 8-10 weeks after surgery.

Groundbreaking new procedures

The da Vinci-Si system can also help significantly improve our ability to treat kidney cancer. Using a capability in the new system, we can more easily tell the difference between healthy tissue and tumors in the kidney, making it easier to remove the tumor without damaging blood vessels and other healthy tissue. Lutheran General is the first hospital in Illinois and one of less than 20 in the nation to offer this particular type of treatment.

More experienced surgeons

The da Vinci-Si Surgical System has a Skills Simulator that allows me to walk residents and attending doctors through an operation while still performing the surgery myself. It also provides a realistic training environment where we can experiment with and perfect new techniques before performing them on a patient.

Access to emerging technologies

Just like a computer operating system, the da Vinci-Si system is a platform on which new programs can be installed and used as soon as they become available.  Major technological advances that promise to further reduce risks and recovery times will be offered.

To learn more about Lutheran General’s Center for Robotic Surgery, call 1-800-323-8622.