Revolutionary Surgical Technique Gets You Back to Your Life Faster
Careers, families, hobbies and community involvement. Few people have time to schedule weeks out of their busy lives to recuperate from surgery. The great news is – you don’t have to. The da Vinci® Surgical System has taken laparoscopic surgery to the next level, giving you a precise, non-invasive surgical option that effectively addresses surgical concerns and gets you back to your life – quickly.
At Carlisle Regional Medical Center, surgeons are performing several da Vinci procedures. Gynecological procedures include laparoscopic hysterectomy for patients diagnosed with cancer, fibroids, uterine prolapse, ovarian masses and cysts. Urological procedures include prostatectomy and renal surgeries.
Every year, more than 600,000 hysterectomies are performed in the United States. An estimated 65 percent of those hysterectomies are “open” – performed through an abdominal incision.
Open hysterectomies can sideline a patient in the hospital for several days and typically require a recovery lasting several weeks. With a hysterectomy using the da Vinci Surgical System, most patients spend just one night in the hospital and are back to work and their usual activities in a fraction of traditional recovery time.
Like traditional laparoscopic surgery, the da Vinci System uses a series of small incisions, explained Dina Schweitzer, MD, FACOG, a gynecological surgeon with Women’s Health Specialists of Carlisle. After situating the patient on the operating table, the surgeon sits at a nearby console and views the surgical field through da Vinci’s 3-D magnification system. The surgeon maneuvers da Vinci’s four surgical arms using hand and foot control pedals.
The da Vinci system is not a robot. It cannot be programmed and cannot perform any surgical maneuvers on its own. The surgeon is in control at all times.
“Using da Vinci is like operating with four arms and a camera,” said Dr. Schweitzer. “Unlike other surgeries, including traditional laparoscopy, it is not necessary to have another surgeon in the room to assist.”
Unlike traditional laparoscopic tools which do not bend at the end, da Vinci’s surgical arms can be articulated in many different angles, giving the surgeon better control and access to the areas of concern. “They are literally extensions of the surgeon’s arms,” Dr. Schweitzer noted.
The 3-D camera offers the surgeon an enhanced view of the surgical field, magnifying even tiny blood vessels, giving the surgeon better control. Because the surgeon can see and react immediately to any bleeding, patients typically experience minimal blood loss during surgery.
“Conventional laparoscopy changed the way we did surgery and da Vinci is the next step,” Dr. Schweitzer said. “Now patients can undergo complex surgical procedures and be back to work in two to three weeks.”
In addition to a quick return to daily living and reduced blood loss, other patient benefits include small incisions to reduce scarring, a shorter hospital stay and minimal postoperative pain.
Most hysterectomies are still performed with an abdominal incision, but having watched their mothers endure the often arduous recovery process associated with traditional open hysterectomies, patients want a different option, explained Dr. Schweitzer. “Patients are pleasantly surprised by the benefits offered by the da Vinci System.”
The surgeons at Women’s Health Specialists of Carlisle were some of the first gynecologists in central Pennsylvania to be trained on the da Vinci Surgical System. These surgeons perform more than 80 percent of gynecologic and urogynecologic surgeries in a minimally invasive fashion, providing patients with good outcomes and a quicker return to their busy lives.