Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Prostate Cancer

Cabell Huntington Hospital is the first hospital in the Huntington area to acquire the da Vinci Surgical System, a state-of-the-art robotic platform designed to enable complex minimally invasive surgery with greater precision. The hospital will initially utilize this technology for robotic prostatectomy, a procedure that offers prostate cancer patients significant benefits over traditional open prostatectomy. Over time, use of the system will be expanded to include general surgical and gynecologic applications.

Performed through five small incisions in the abdomen, robotic prostatectomy generally results in shorter hospital stays, less pain, less risk of infection, faster recoveries and more complete eradication of cancer than traditional prostate surgery. Because the da Vinci System allows for greater visualization, increased range of motion and enhanced precision, surgeons are better able to identify and avoid muscles and nerves that control sexual function and urination, greatly reducing the risk of impotence and incontinence. Patients who undergo robotic prostatectomy also tend to experience less blood loss and require less anesthesia.

"The advantages of robotic surgery are enormous for patients with prostate cancer," said Louis R. Molina, MD, a urologist with University Urological Associates and Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. "This is a significant milestone in terms of surgical advancement in the Huntington area, cancer treatment and improved quality of life for our patients. No longer will these patients be required to travel long distances to receive the most advanced care and treatment available."

The da Vinci Surgical System provides the surgeon with four robotic arms to operate and allows for the surgeon's hand movements to be scaled, filtered and translated into precise movements of micro-instruments within the surgical site. Although the general term "robotic surgery" is used to refer to this technology, the system cannot operate or make decisions on its own. Instead, the system, with instrument tips that can rotate like the human wrist, is designed to seamlessly replicate the movement of the surgeon's hands in real time, dramatically improving dexterity and control.

With the da Vinci Surgical system, the surgeon operates from a comfortable, seated position at a 3D stereo viewer console that visualizes the target anatomy at high magnification, in brilliant color and with natural depth of field. To perform a procedure, the surgeon uses the console's master controls to maneuver the patient-side cart's four robotic arms, which securely hold the micro-instruments and endoscopic camera. To move the instruments or to reposition the camera, the surgeon simply moves his/her hands. Built-in safety features reduce hand trembling and opportunities for human error.

In 2000, the da Vinci Surgical System became the first robotic surgical platform commercially available in the United States to be cleared by the FDA for use in general laparoscopic surgery.

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