da Vinci Robotic Surgical System

The da Vinci robotic surgical system is an advancement in minimally invasive surgery techniques. The system allows your surgeon to have three robotic arms to use for extremely fine and precise work with a 10x magnifier at the end of a control camera. During the surgery, you will have the robotic patient cart placed above you. Your surgeon will be seated in the room with you at a special console. The console allows the surgeon to have both 3-D and HD visualization of the surgery site. Hand controllers within the console control the instruments and camera on the robotic arms during surgery. The robotic arms exactly mirror the movements of the surgeon’s hands, and allow for very fine control of the instruments. Because the robotic arms are so flexible, most patients will only need small (penny or dime-sized) incisions in the skin for their surgery.

All of these advancements mean that patients will have less pain after surgery, which usually means a shorter amount of time spent in the hospital. Most patients also need less narcotic pain medicine, and can go home to resume their normal activities of daily life more quickly. While not every surgery can be performed using this technique, Presbyterian’s da Vinci robotic system can be used for many types of procedures performed by our general surgeons and surgical oncologists. Your healthcare provider can tell you if this technique is right for your unique medical needs.