Robotic Surgery - da Vinci® Surgical System Takes a Bow
An IU Health La Porte Release
Robotic surgery may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but for modern gynecologic surgeons like John Taylor, MD, his colleagues and the more than 300 patients who’ve experienced one or another da Vinci® surgical procedure at Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital, it’s a state-of-the-art reality.
IU Health La Porte Hospital invested in da Vinci technology in 2010. The first da Vinci surgery was performed at the hospital in June of that year. Since that first surgery, the number of patients, qualified surgeons and successful procedures accomplished using da Vinci technology has continued to expand and grow.
Though the majority of surgeries performed to date have been hysterectomies, Dr. Taylor has recently expanded the capabilities of IU Health La Porte Hospital by adding the sacrocolpopexy. This procedure is done to correct vaginal and uterine prolapse (slipping or falling) caused by a weakening or stretching of the muscles, ligaments and skin holding them in their correct anatomical position.
To understand the value of da Vinci, its first necessary to clarify this term “robotic surgery.” The idea of robots encircling a patient, their mechanical arms whizzing about is both a scary proposition and very much the stuff of science fiction. Surgery enhanced with robotic technology is less catchy, perhaps, but a more apt description of da Vinci surgery.
The da Vinci system, advanced though it may be, cannot work on its own. Surgeries are performed by highly skilled, qualified doctors as they’ve always been. The difference is that by using advanced da Vinci technology, doctors can perform complex procedures like hysterectomies and sacrocolpopexies by way of a few tiny openings rather than the traditional open abdominal method.
The advantages of surgeries performed with these less invasive techniques are: significantly less pain, less blood loss and need for transfusions, less scarring, shorter hospital stays, shorter recovery times and fewer complications. For patients, this usually means getting back to normal life faster.
Though the success rate of traditional hysterectomies and sacrocolpopexies performed abdominally is quite high, recovery time can be long including numerous days in the hospital followed by several weeks of recuperation at home. For active women, these time constraints can be daunting—subsequently, the required procedures to relieve unnecessary pain, suffering and discomfort are quite often put off.
Laparoscopic surgery offers a minimally invasive alternative, but this approach is generally considered technically challenging for surgeons, particularly for the sacrocolpopexy procedure due to the extensive suturing requirements and limitations of traditional laparoscopic technology.
These same procedures performed using da Vinci technology, however, typically involve less than a day in the hospital followed by two weeks of recovery at home. As with any surgery, there is a potential for complications, but the main hurdle to active women who’ve experienced less pain with da Vinci surgery, is the temptation to return to normal life prior to two weeks recuperation.
For veteran surgeons like Dr. Taylor, the overwhelming advantages of da Vinci surgery are clear: a 10x magnified, 3-diminsional, high definition view of the surgical area allows for more accurate placement of sutures and a smoothing of hand movements via robotic technology.
The uses of da Vinci are on course for expansion into the future as the number of surgeons approaching and overcoming the required educational and qualification processes increase. Prostate surgeries and a number of other procedures are also candidates for this minimally invasive technology. The excitement surrounding da Vinci and its potential is both undeniable and entirely understandable.
Investments in this and other cutting-edge technologies by IU Health La Porte Hospital are indicative of their commitment to acquire and maintain preeminence in all areas of healthcare. To learn more about da Vinci, please ask your gynecologist or make an appointment directly with Dr. Taylor by calling 219.326.5700.
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