daVinci Robotic Surgery
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a condition that may require surgery, you owe it to yourself to learn about all of your medical options. You will want to know the most effective and least invasive surgical treatments available. The da Vinci® Surgical System provides surgeons with an alternative to both traditional open surgery and conventional laparoscopy, by putting a surgeon’s hands at the controls of a state-of-the-art robotic platform.
Robotic Surgery's Benefits for Patients
- Shorter hospital stay
- Less pain after the surgery
- Less scarring after surgery
- Lower risk of infection
- Less blood loss and fewer transfusions
- Faster recovery and a faster return to normal daily living activities
How Does Robotic-Assisted Surgery Work?
The surgeon works at the computer console.
There is an assistant surgeon, anesthesiologist, and an O.R. nurse by the patient’s bed, along with the robotic equipment.
The doctor makes tiny incisions (the size of a dime) and guides the robotic arms with attached instruments and a tiny camera through the incisions.
At the computer console, the surgeon looks through a camera with that can magnify the organs and other structures inside the body by 10x. Most laparoscopic surgeries provide doctors with 4x magnification.
The surgeon can change the surgical view instantly, using foot pedals to zoom in and out.
The movement of the surgeon’s fingers is transmitted (via the computer console) to the instrument tips on the other robotic arms. These instruments mimic the movements of the surgeon’s hands and wrists. They have the same 360-degree range of motion that the surgeon has. This gives the doctor an ambidextrous capability and terrific surgical precision.
The surgeon is always in control, sitting at the console a few feet from the patient.
The surgeon performs surgery with unmatched precision, operating the instruments in real time.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Will my insurance cover my surgery if it is robot assisted?
A: Once your insurance approves your surgery, it will be covered if your surgeon uses the da Vinci robot as well. The robot is simply a tool used by your surgeon to improve the outcome for your surgery.
Q: Why is the robot called the da Vinci® Surgical System?
A: The name “da Vinci” was chosen because Leonardo da Vinci invented the first robot. He was well known for using unparalleled anatomical accuracy and three-dimensional details to bring his masterpieces to life. The da Vinci Surgical System provides surgeons with enhanced detail and simulates an open surgical environment while allowing operation through tiny incisions.
Q: Can the surgeon feel anything inside the patient's chest or abdomen while using the da Vinci Surgical System?
A: Yes. The system relays force feedback sensations from the operative field back to the surgeon throughout the procedure. Force feedback provides a substitute for tactile sensation.
Q: Has the da Vinci Surgical System been cleared by the FDA?
A: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the da Vinci Surgical System for a wide range of procedures. Please see the FDA Clearance page for specific clearances and representative uses.
In The News
Thyroid Surgery without Neck Incisions
Once again, the College Station Medical Center displays its commitment to the community by offering the latest technology and partnering with physicians on the forefront of their specialty. Andrew de Jong, MD and Ron Kuppersmith, MD, Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeons at CSMC, are among the first physicians in the United States to offer the thyroid surgery using the daVinci Robot. In addition to eliminating neck incisions, the daVinci robot allows these surgeons to perform delicate work around nerves and other important structures near the thyroid.
Thyroid nodules are very common particularly in women. The risk increases with pregnancy, advancing age, and radiation exposure. While nodules are common, thyroid cancer is much less common. Thyroid surgery is typically performed to treat thyroid cancer, to aid in the diagnosis or thyroid cancer, or if a nodule is causing obstructive symptoms such as difficulty breathing or swallowing. Even with “minimally invasive” techniques, traditional thyroid surgery leaves an unsightly scar across the front of the neck. While the scar has been a concern for patients in the past, there was no alternative. Now, when a patient comes to the College Station Medical Center they may be able to have their thyroid surgery performed without any visible neck incisions using the daVinci robot!
“The ability to use the daVinci robot for thyroid surgery potentially represents a great step forward in patient care, provides new options for patients, and will allow for the procedure to be conducted without leaving unattractive scarring on the neck,” says Ron Kuppersmith, M.D. Additionally, Andrew de Jong, M.D. noted that “the da Vinci robot is cutting edge technology, and we feel fortunate to be able to bring this new procedure to our community before it is available almost anywhere else in the nation.”
For more information, call 979-693-6000.
Leadership Brazos Health & Wellness Day
The Leadership Brazos organization was in session at College Station Medical Center on May 2. The group spent the afternoon at The Med following a morning of visiting other healthcare facilities in Bryan/College Station. Leadership Brazos is comprised of men and women from businesses in the community with the sole purpose of promoting the development of community leaders for Brazos County.
Thomas Jackson, CEO with Angeletta Brown, MD, Craig Steiner MD and John Cochran, MD were joined by Dann Kidd of the Wellness Center in different presentations to the group. Dr. Cochran demonstrated the use of the daVinci robot during a mock surgical procedure. Each attendee also received "hands-on" experience by test-driving the robot.
College Station hospital unveils robotic surgery
By GREG OKUHARA
Eagle Staff Writer
Officials at College Station Medical Center unveiled a robotic device designed to assist surgeons with minimally invasive procedures.
The $1.5 million daVinci Surgical System allows doctors to use laparoscopic techniques for procedures that normally required major incisions by using articulated arms and a camera the surgeon controls from a separate console.
John Cochran, a urologist at College Station Medical Center, and Director of Robotic Services, said the daVinci robot is good news for patients.
Cochran has performed radical prostatectomy (for prostate cancer), and certain gynecological procedures are also being performed. He said the radical prostatectomy normally requires a three- to seven-day hospital stay and patients take six to eight weeks to fully recover.
With the daVinci System, the procedure requires only an overnight hospital stay, and recovery time is reduced to two to three weeks.
"Benefits as far as the patients are concerned have been well-documented," Cochran said. "There's a radical decrease in the amount of blood lost during surgery, better tumor control, quicker recovery times."
Hospital officials plan to use the daVinci Surgical System for hysterectomies, gastric bypass, and certain cardiac, and ear, nose and throat procedures.
Cochran said the robot is only a tool surgeons use and doesn't replace the doctor in the operating room.
"The robot has not any innate intelligence of its own," he said. "It only does what the surgeon tells it to do."
College Station Medical Center is one of 26 hospitals in Texas and 300 across the United States that have the daVinci Surgical System.
For More Information
For more information on our Robotic Surgical Services Program call (979) 693-2762.