At CommonSpirit Health, we’re changing the surgical experience for the surgeon, the hospital and, most importantly, for you. If you’ve been diagnosed with a medical condition that requires surgery, you owe it to yourself to learn about all your options, including the least invasive surgical treatment available: Robotic-assisted surgery.
Robotic technology takes surgery beyond the limits of the human hand, introducing precise, versatile instrument movement. But what exactly is robotic-assisted surgery? How does it work? What are the benefits over traditional surgery? Below we answer these questions and more.
Minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery builds upon advances in both traditional and minimally invasive surgery with an advanced robotic platform outfitted with a tiny high-resolution camera and multiple arms. Each arm is equipped with micro-instruments that can rotate 360 degrees to better access your surgical site. The system magnifies, scales, filters, controls for tremor and seamlessly translates your surgeon's hand movements into precise micro-movements of the medical instruments. With only a few tiny incisions, your surgeon can perform complex surgery that offers you the potential for less pain and scarring and a faster return to your daily activities.
Robotic-assisted surgery has many potential benefits when compared to traditional surgery, including:
- Significantly less pain
- A faster recovery time
- A shorter hospital stay
- A quicker return to your everyday activities
- Less scarring
- Less risk of infection
- Less blood loss
- A better clinical outcome
No. Although it is often called a “robot,” the robotic surgical system cannot work on its own. The surgery is performed entirely by your doctor. The system cannot be programmed, nor can it independently make decisions to move in any way or perform any type of surgical maneuver without the surgeon's input.
We use robotic-assisted surgery to treat a wide variety of complex urologic, gynecologic, bariatric, colorectal and general surgical procedures surgery.
Some of the conditions we treat include:
- Bladder cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Coronary artery disease
- Endometriosis
- Gynecologic cancer
- Heavy uterine bleeding
- Kidney disorders
- Kidney cancer
- Mitral valve prolapse
- Obesity
- Prostate cancer
- Throat cancer
- Uterine fibroids
- Uterine prolapse
Some of the major benefits robotic-assisted surgery offers a surgeon includes greater surgical precision, increased range of motion, improved dexterity, enhanced visualization and improved access to the targeted surgical area.
Yes. While any surgical procedure involves some level of risk, robotic-assisted surgery has been proven safe and effective. CommonSpirit Health uses the da Vinci Si Surgical System, which has been successfully used in tens of thousands of minimally invasive procedures worldwide. Surgeons and patients around the world have found da Vinci Surgery to be a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment option for a range of complex conditions. In fact, roughly 3,000 peer-reviewed studies have been published demonstrating the clinical effectiveness of da Vinci surgery.
