The da Vinci Surgical System is being used by a range of specialists at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Rather than a major incision in traditional open surgeries, da Vinci technology allows for small incisions which are based on the robot’s arms, two of which hold surgical instruments while a third is a camera allowing a surgeon seated at a nearby computer console to see inside the body. While the patient lies on the operating room table, the surgeon controls the arms holding surgical instruments steady inside the body.
“We are so pleased to be able to offer our community complex robotic surgery,” says Sam Bhayani, MD, Washington University urologist and chief medical officer at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. “The technology is transforming our ability to treat patients. The future is now.”
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital has been offering robotic surgery since 2010. Dr. Bhayani and his colleagues have pioneered use of the robot for kidney cancer surgery. Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital surgeons are using the robot
for prostate cancer, kidney tumor removal, colorectal cancer, cholecystectomy, pelvic floor repair and procedures on the esophagus and stomach. Future uses include pancreatic cancer removal and thoracic surgery, including lobectomy.
For most patients, the da Vinci Surgical Systems offers numerous potential benefits over traditional open procedures including:
- Decreased post-operative pain
- Shorter hospital stay
- Less pain
- Less risk of infection
- Less fluid loss and fewer transfusions
Robotic procedures offered at Barnes-Jewish West County include:
- Prostate cancer
- Kidney tumor removal
- Colorectal cancer
- Cholecystectomy
- Pelvic floor repair
- Esophagus procedures
- Stomach procedures