Although robotic surgery is revolutionary, it’s not a new kid on the block. Robotic systems have been used successfully to make surgery faster, more precise, and less traumatic for the patient for several decades.
The most successful robotic surgery system is the da Vinci® from Intuitive Surgical. The da Vinci system contains:
Despite the high-tech of the da Vinci system, your surgeon is the one in control. That’s why, no matter which surgical approach you choose for your colorectal operation, the most important factor is the experience and skill of your surgeon.
Our highly trained and expert colorectal surgeons at Colon and Rectal Surgeons of Greater Hartford in Bloomfield and South Windsor, Connecticut, have had great success using the da Vinci system to treat colorectal conditions. These highly trained experts use robotic surgery for a variety of needs, including:
How has da Vinci robotic surgery revolutionized colorectal treatment and how will this benefit you? Following are the five top ways.
When you undergo a surgical procedure, you don’t want more done than is necessary. Because the da Vinci arms feature miniature surgical instruments, your surgeon can be extremely precise with their movements.
As a highly trained da Vinci operator, they use the control panel to manipulate the surgical tools in ways that can’t be accomplished directly by hand. The increase in precision means that mistakes are less likely. It also means your surgeon can perform with smaller, less traumatic moves and incisions.
The robotic arms are also more stable than the human hand. The increased precision and stability leads to increased safety.
Finally, the miniature cameras and the 3D monitor give your surgeon a far clearer view of the surgical field than is available to the naked eye or even via laparoscope. Digital zoom and interchangeable lenses magnify the surgical field by 10–15 times in three dimensions. In contrast, traditional laparoscopic surgery only allows for 4-6 times magnification of a 2D image.
When robotic surgery made its debut decades ago, operation times were slightly longer than with traditional open surgery, as surgeons became acquainted with the techniques. Today’s surgeons, however, are trained early and long on da Vinci and other robotic systems, so that robotic surgery is now faster than open surgery.
Shorter operation times translate into less surgeon fatigue. Less surgeon fatigue reduces the chance for errors.
Robotic surgery only needs several small incisions of several centimeters each. The miniature cameras, forceps, and scalpels perform the operation through those tiny incisions.
In contrast, open surgery may require an incision of several inches in length that must be held open with clamps. The robotic surgery, therefore, results in significantly less blood loss.
When your incisions are smaller, your blood loss is reduced, and your body is less traumatized. That means you don’t have as long a recovery time as you would with open or laparoscopic surgery. When recovery is faster, your hospital stay is shorter.
Shorter hospital stays cost less, of course. The accelerated healing times also mean that you have less downtime, so you can get back to work, and to your life, faster than ever.
While all of the other attributes of the da Vinci are admirable and important, the one factor that’s most important is the outcome of your surgery. How does robotic surgery compare with traditional surgery when it comes to your long-term health?
In one study of 1,171 patients with middle or low rectal cancer, the 3-year regional recurrence rate was 1.6% in the robotic surgery group vs 4.0% in the laparoscopic group. The 3-year disease-free survival rate was also better in the robotic group (87.2% vs. 83.4%). The 3-year overall survival was 94.7% for the robotic group vs. 93.0% for the laparoscopic group.
To schedule your robotic surgery procedure, phone our team at the office nearest you (Bloomfield or South Windsor, Connecticut) today. Or, simply contact us online.
