New surgical robot allows
for faster recovery

Roberto Darroca, MD

Associates in Women’s Health, PC

Q. I heard there is a new surgical robot being used at the hospital, is this true?
A. Yes, it’s the new da Vinci Surgical System, this robotic system gives surgeons the ability to perform even the most complex procedures in a minimally invasive way.

Physicians at Ball Memorial Hospital are among the growing number of surgeons worldwide who have been successfully trained to use the surgical robot to perform surgeries such has radical prostatectomies, mitral valve replacement, uterine fibroid removal, and hysterectomies.

The results are significant for both physicians and patients—greater precision and control, reduced pain, scarring and complications, less blood loss, fewer transfusions and a faster recovery. Ball Memorial Hospital is the only hospital in the region with this new technology.

Q. How does it work exactly?
A. The surgical robot uses small incisions to insert miniaturized wristed, hand-like instruments and a camera. Sitting at the console the surgeon views a magnified, high-resolution 3D image of the surgical site.

At the same time, robotic and computer technologies scale, filter and seamlessly translate the surgeon’s hand movements into precise micro-movements of the surgical instruments. Every surgical maneuver is performed with direct input from the physician.

Q. What are the specific benefits for you and your patients as an OB/GYN?
A. A woman who has fibroids of her uterus and desires to maintain her fertility had limited options. A traditional laparoscopic myomectomy was limited because of the difficulty in closing the uterus precisely. Imagine tying a knot if you didn’t have wrists. It can be done, but not with any confidence that the knot was tight. Most myomectomies in women desiring to maintain fertility were performed with a large incision. This meant more blood loss, more pain, and an increased risk of infection. A robotically performed myomectomy gives the patient the advantages of an open surgery with the benefits of the minimally invasive laparoscopic approach.

Women with severe endometriosis or previous surgeries that involved the pelvis usually had hysterectomies performed abdominally. The daVinci Robot allows the hysterectomy for these patients to be done through four half inch incisions. There is less blood loss and less patient discomfort. The hospital stay for most patients is shorter.

Q. How did robotic surgery develop?
A. Robotic surgery was developed to aid in the treatment of battlefield injuries. There was great interest to provide our fighting forces who were injured in the front lines that required surgery a way that they could get this service without having to transport them thousands of miles. The daVinci Robot was born.

The engineering in the daVinci Robot is incredible. The robot removes any tremor in the surgeon’s hands. It magnifies the area of interest 20 times. It allows the wrist of the instrument to rotate 270 degrees. The human wrist rotates only 180 degrees. The robot was used to perform a gallbladder surgery in France with the surgeon located in Boston! All robotic surgery at Ball Memorial Hospital is performed with the surgeon in the operating room.

Roberto Darroca, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Associates in Women’s Health, PC, is a member of the Ball Memorial Hospital medical staff. For more information on robotic surgery send an email to info@chsmail.org.

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