daVinci® Robotic Surgical System

The da Vinci® system is a technologically-advanced alternative to traditional open or laparoscopic surgeries. Seated at a special viewing and control console, the surgeon controls a robotic arm unit to perform the delicate surgical procedures inside the patient, while the system allows him to work more intricately, and see in far greater detail, than traditional surgical methods.

Instead of using a long, traditional incision to open the surgical site, surgeons using da Vinci need only make small incisions into which they guide three thin stainless steel probes guided by the da Vinci surgical robotic arms. One rod is fitted with a camera that shows the surgeon a detailed three-dimensional view of the operation through the viewing console. The other two hold the delicate surgical instruments the surgeon uses to dissect and suture the tissue being operated on, using precision controls that move in perfect synchronization with the surgeon's hands.

Smaller incisions mean less trauma to surrounding tissue, which translates into reduced hospital stays. In many cases, a patient can go home in a day or two following a robotic procedure—half the time required for traditional open surgery. Robotic surgery also speeds up recovery times, reduces post-operative infection risks, and lets patients return to their normal daily activities far sooner with more successful outcomes.

For more information about the da Vinci Si Surgical System, click here.

In the News

10/5/11 - Flowers Hospital Utilizes Advanced Robotic Technology in Kidney Saving Surgery
5/28/12 - Flowers Hospital Performs First Single-Site daVinci Gallbladder Surgery

da Vinci Partial Nephrectomy (Kidney-Sparing Surgery)

If your doctor recommends surgery for kidney disease such as kidney cancer, you may be a candidate for a minimally invasive, kidney-sparing surgery. Depending on your disease state and tumor location, you may not have to lose your entire kidney to surgery. A surgical technique called partial nephrectomy removes only the diseased part of your kidney while sparing the healthy, functioning kidney tissue.

Sparing kidney tissue is important because studies show that patients who have their entire kidney removed are more likely to suffer from chronic kidney disease after surgery than patients who received a kidney-sparing partial nephrectomy.

With the benefits of da Vinci Surgery, doctors may be able to perform a partial nephrectomy or kidney-sparing surgery (healthy, functioning kidney tissue is spared) to help minimize the onset of chronic kidney disease.

The precision and dexterity of the da Vinci Surgical System's advanced instrumentation provides for a minimally invasive approach to treating kidney disorders and kidney cancer with several potential benefits:

• Improved clinical outcomes and cancer control
• Shorter hospital stay
• Less blood loss
• Precise tumor removal and kidney reconstruction
• Lower operative complications

If your doctor is able to preserve your healthy, functioning kidney tissue, this can help to prevent future kidney disease and even dialysis.

da Vinci Surgery for kidney conditions uses the tried and true techniques of open surgery and applies them to a robotic-assisted, minimally invasive approach.

As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed since surgery is unique to each patient, condition and procedure.

Learn More: da Vinci Partial Nephrectomy 

Prostate Health The prostate is a gland that wraps around a man's urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder. Cancer can form inside this gland and exist for years without causing symptoms.

da Vinci Prostatectomy

da Vinci Prostatectomy is a minimally invasive, robotic-assisted surgical procedure that removes the cancerous prostate gland and related structures. The potential benefits of the da Vinci Prostatectomy are:

• Effective Cancer Control: Studies have shown that experienced surgeons have achieved excellent results in removing prostate cancer without leaving cancer cells behind.
• Improved and Early Return of Sexual Function: Studies have shown that most patients have a rapid return of sexual function.
• Improved and Early Return of Continence: Studies have shown that most patients have a rapid return of urinary continence.
• Improved Results Over Traditional Treatments: Patients may benefit from surgical treatment of localized prostate cancer, the established gold standard, as compared to radiation. Surgery has a higher and longer survival rate than radiation or other treatments. Surgery also has a lower risk of long-term complications than radiation treatments.
• Minimally Invasive Surgery: The da Vinci System enables surgeons to perform even the most complex and delicate procedures through very small incisions with unmatched precision.

Click here to learn more about robotic prostatectomies at Flowers Hospital.

Learn More: da Vinci Prostatectomy

Hysterectomy Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. This procedure may be done because of fibroid tumors, endometriosis, or cancer.

da Vinci Hysterectomy

Traditional open gynecologic surgery, using a large incision for access to the uterus and surrounding anatomy, has for many years been the standard approach to many gynecologic procedures. Yet with open surgery can come significant pain, trauma, a long recovery process and threat to surrounding organs and nerves.

For complex hysterectomies and other gynecologic procedures, robot-assisted surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System may be the most effective, least invasive treatment option. Through tiny, 1-2 cm incisions, surgeons using the da Vinci System can operate with greater precision and control, minimizing the pain and risk associated with large incisions while increasing the likelihood of a fast recovery and excellent clinical outcomes.

Learn More: da Vinci Hysterectomy