
A new four-armed assistant is helping surgeons at Summerlin
Hospital Medical Center perform minimally invasive procedures on some
patients.
The da Vinci® Surgical System may not perform surgery
on its own, but it does enable surgeons to recreate the movement of
their hands, wrists and fingers within a very confined space in the
patient's body.
During these procedures, surgeons make small
incisions to accommodate the robot's arms, which are equipped with a
high-resolution camera and special surgical instruments. Doctors then
sit at a console near the patient where they view magnified,
three-dimensional images of the surgical site. Using master controls,
they direct the movements they want the robotic arms to make inside the
patient's body. The da Vinci robot has a full range of motion and
offers an added level of precision by filtering out normal hand tremors.
"Robotic
systems are one of the most significant advances we've seen in
medicine," said Robert Freymuller, CEO/Managing Director at Summerlin
Hospital. "They allow surgeons to operate in real time and help to
improve patient outcomes. Patient benefits typically include a shorter
hospital stay, less pain, fewer complications after surgery and a
quicker recovery."