New Surgery System Is More Precise, Yields Quicker Recovery
A revolutionary new surgical system came to
Southcoast Hospitals this fall. The da Vinci® robotic
system allows surgeons to do procedures with
greater precision than traditional minimally invasive
surgery and patients may recover quicker.
Southcoast’s new system will primarily be used for urological surgeries, such as radical prostatectomies to treat prostate cancer. There are plans to expand to gynecological procedures.
“Southcoast Hospitals is the first health care organization to bring state-of-the-art robotic surgical technology to Southeastern Massachusetts, raising the bar for cancer surgery and offering our patients the fastest-growing prostate cancer surgery available,” said Keith A. Hovan, President & CEO of Southcoast Hospitals Group.
Highly Accurate Surgery
The da Vinci robot consists of two parts: a surgeon console and a patient-side robotic system that has a high-definition 3-D camera and four robotic “arms” with instruments. One arm holds a tiny camera that magnifies the surgical site 10 times.The surgeon views an image of the surgical site at the console. The surgeon “drives” the system, operating through tiny incisions and is in complete control at all times.
“The da Vinci offers patients considerable benefits to a delicate procedure, including smaller incisions, less pain, a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery, less scarring and quicker return to normal activities,” said Dennis LaRock, MD, of Urology Inc. in Fall River.
Leading Prostate Cancer Treatment
“The radical prostatectomy is a delicate surgery that can now be performed with unparalleled precision and flexibility without having to leave the region,” said Derek Hausladen, MD, of Hawthorn Medical Associates in North Dartmouth. “We are thrilled to bring this state-of-the-art technology to the South Coast region and very excited to offer this advanced treatment to our patients.”The da Vinci system will be located at Charlton Memorial Hospital. It will be used by trained surgeons from throughout Southcoast Hospitals Group.
