Surgeons at Saint Joseph’s Hospital -- and the first patient in Georgia -- broke new ground when they performed a daVinci-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy and node dissection.
“The daVinci has been used in a wide variety of cardiac, thoracic, prostatectomy and urological procedures since Saint Joseph’s acquired it in 2002, but this is the first time it has been used for a complete hysterectomy and node dissection,” says Joseph Boveri, MD, chief of gyn/gyn oncolgy at Saint Joseph’s Hospital. “For women facing the diagnosis of cancer and the prospect of a complete hysterectomy, the daVinci robotic surgical system offers them a less-invasive procedure, faster recovery time and less scarring.”
The daVinci Surgical System is operated by a surgeon sitting a few feet away from the patient at a console. Using a high-powered camera, the surgeon guides the arms of the robot that holds surgical tools which are inserted into the patient through small, keyhole-sized incisions. The daVinci’s highly accurate instruments allow the surgeon to move his own hands - and the robots – to conduct precise movements with extraordinary control and range of motion. The daVinci’s video monitoring system provides a three-dimensional view of the surgery with magnification ten times that of the naked eye.
“There were no major abdominal incisions for this fairly-involved procedure,” says Dr. Boveri. “The patient has four dime-sized incisions making her recovery faster and easier.”
Douglas Murphy, MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Saint Joseph’s and one of the nation’s leading surgeons in minimally-invasive techniques, has been using the daVinci system for more than three years. Dr. Murphy has performed more than 225 procedures at Saint Joseph’s including atrial septal defect repair (ASD), mitral valve repair and thymectomy, and is the only hospital in Atlanta offering minimally-invasive techniques for open heart surgeries. Dr. Murphy and other Saint Joseph’s surgeons also perform coronary artery bypass, diagnostic procedures as well as lung resections. In addition, Saint Joseph’s is the clinical trial site for a procedure to improve cardiac vascularization (transmyocardial revascularaization) in patients who are not candidates for heart bypass. Dr. Murphy also leads the daVinci training program for physicians using the robotic system from around the world.
“The patient benefits of this technique are tremendous including shortened recovery time, less blood loss and reduced rates of infection,” says Dr. Murphy. “And, there is far reaching potential for the technique including long-distance remote surgeries that would allow surgeons to participate and guide procedures that otherwise may not be possible. As more surgeons are trained, more procedures will be performed using minimally-invasive techniques saving patients time, pain and expense. ”
Saint Joseph’s was one of the principal investigation sites in the country for the daVinci clinical trials and has been performing daVinci-assisted coronary bypass procedures since FDA-approval in 2004.
For more information about robotic surgery, contact Erin Popescu, robotics program manager, at 404-851-7251.
