The da Vinci® Surgical System

Until recently, if you were diagnosed with a condition requiring surgery, your options were either traditional surgery with a large, open incision, or laparoscopy, which uses small incisions, but is typically limited to very simple procedures.

Thanks to an effective, minimally invasive alternative, the da Vinci® Surgical System, surgeons can perform complex surgical procedures through just a few small incisions, using a high-definition 3D vision system and tiny wristed instruments that bend and rotate far more than the human wrist. For patients, da Vinci surgery typically results in smaller incisions, less pain, a shorter hospital stay, a faster return to normal daily activities and the potential for better clinical outcomes.

Although it is referred to as robotic surgery, it is important to know that surgery with da Vinci does not place a robot at the controls. Your surgeon, who has been through extensive da Vinci training, is controlling every aspect of the surgery with the assistance of the da Vinci robotic platform.The robotic arms enable the surgeon to perform a complex procedure in a very small space with accuracy and dexterity. Watching the video will show you how da Vinci technology works and the enhanced vision, precision, dexterity and control it offers your surgeon.

The da Vinci® Xi

The first da Vinci Surgical System for minimally invasive surgery arrived on our campus in 2006. Thanks to that system's success and its popularity with patients, the hospital purchased two advanced da Vinci Xi Systems in 2015. Our staff now includes about 20 surgeons in specialties such as OB/GYN, urology, urologic oncology and general surgery who perform minimally invasive surgery using the da Vinci Xi. Compared to our first da Vinci System, the da Vinci Xi System's key features include:

• A new overhead instrument arm designed to make anatomical access easier from virtually any position
• A new endoscope architecture with a simpler, more compact design and improved visual definition and clarity
• Smaller, thinner arms with newly designed joints that offer a greater range of motion than ever before

The da Vinci Xi System uses the latest in surgical and robotic technologies and is beneficial for performing complex surgery, including:

• Urologic procedures to treat bladder, prostate and kidney cancer and kidney disorders
• Gynecologic procedures to treat fibroid tumors, endometriosis, heavy menstrual bleeding, gynecologic cancers and pelvic prolapse
• Colorectal procedures to treat colon cancer, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease

All surgery presents risk, including da Vinci Surgery and other minimally invasive procedures. Serious complications may occur in any surgery, up to and including death. Examples of serious and life-threatening complications that may require hospitalization include injury to tissues or organs, bleeding, infection and internal scarring that can cause long-lasting dysfunction or pain. See additional da Vinci® Surgical System safety information here.