First robotic-assisted surgery performed at Crossing Rivers Health
The da Vinci Surgical System arrived at Crossing Rivers Health medical center in June and the first robotic-assisted surgery was performed there by Dr. Steven Bush on Friday, Aug. 11.
Precision and enhanced dexterity, especially in the small cavities of the body, are a great benefit of robotic-assisted surgery. Pictured, the robot peels a grape and folds origami to demonstrate its capabilities.
By Correne Martin
The first ever robotic-assisted surgery conducted in Prairie du Chien was done Friday, Aug. 11, at the Crossing Rivers Health medical center. Dr. Steven Bush, board-certified gynecologist and obstetrician, performed the procedure using the da Vinci Surgical System, a cutting edge technology that’s changing the perception of surgery.
Robotic-assisted surgery utilizes a robot to facilitate surgery in a more effective way for the patient as well as the surgeon.
“The surgeon controls it and the robot allows for a much better touch and rotation inside the abdomen,” Bush explained.
The $1 million, state-of-the-art system—named after 15th Century inventor, painter and philosopher Leonardo da Vinci—uses a thin instrument with a tiny camera and light at the end, which magnify and provide a high-definition, 3D version of inside the patient’s body. The four robotic arms can bend and rotate far greater than human hands are capable of doing. Crossing Rivers currently has six surgeons—four urologists and two gynecologists—trained in robotic-assisted surgery.
“It’s a rigorous (months-long) training, where we meet with da Vinci at their training centers, and then proctors stay with us to assure we’re comfortable with the process,” Bush said. “It means we can perform more complex surgeries rather than transferring them out of [Crossing Rivers].”
Benefits for the patient include less blood loss and risk of infection, fewer complications, smaller incisions for less pain and minimal scarring, shorter hospital stays as well as faster recovery and return to daily life. Additionally, surgeries can be taken care of closer to home for local patients.
According to Dr. Bush, most patients having laparoscopic or open surgery can spend about four days in the hospital and take six to eight weeks for full recovery. Patients undergoing surgery performed with the da Vinci system will typically go home the same day or the next morning and be completely recovered in about three weeks.
Robotic-assisted surgeries that can be done in Prairie du Chien include hysterectomies, removal of ovaries or ovarian masses, endometrium, hernia and gall bladder removals, colon surgeries, prostatectomies and a few others. Most of these surgeries fall into the areas of urology, gynecology and general surgery.
“There are times we won’t be able to use the da Vinci, but I’d say 95 percent of surgeries can be done with this,” Bush said.
For the surgeon, advantages to using the new technology include greater visualization, enhanced dexterity, greater precision and fewer complications. The surgeon sits at an ergonomically-designed console, controlled by his hands and feet, while viewing the 3D picture.
Robotic surgery has been around for about 15 years, but its exponential growth has been more recent, Bush said. The da Vinci system arrived at the medical center at the end of June, and Crossing Rivers staff were anxiously awaiting its arrival. The first surgery with it was a revolutionary moment for the hospital.
Bush concluded, “Having a robot at Crossing Rivers Health puts the facility in a category of very few rural critical access hospitals that have such technology.”
