May 4, 2005

Source:
The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Florida) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

Robot-assisted surgery can reduce post-op pain.

Byline: Urvaksh Karkaria

May 4--If you think having your prostate removed at the metallic hands of a robot seems like something from a Star Trek episode -- think again.

Two Jacksonville health-care providers -- Baptist Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic -- will offer robot-assisted surgery that promises to reduce post-operative pain and allow patients to go home sooner.

The roughly $1 million da Vinci Surgical System, made by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Intuitive Surgical Inc., is used to perform prostatectomies -- or prostate removals -- and certain kinds of kidney, cardiac and gynecological surgery.

With its ability to speed recovery, cut back on expensive hospital stays and reduce physical scarring, hospitals are betting the minimally invasive technology will bring more patients through their operating room doors.

Under this procedure, small incisions are made in the patient through which surgical instruments and a miniature camera held by robotic arms are inserted. The surgeon controls the movement of the instruments and camera from a console.

"This is about innovative technology that advances for us the notion of minimally invasive medicine and surgery, which is one of our key focus areas," said Keith Stein, chief medical officer and senior vice president at Baptist Health. The hospital expects to begin da Vinci-assisted procedures in the next few months.

Since its 1999 launch, nearly 300 da Vinci systems have been installed worldwide, including nearly 220 in the United States.

Hospitals with this technology show they can consolidate the market and draw patients from outside their normal market area, said Jim Bobbitt, area sales manager for Intuitive.

For instance, the West Marion Community Hospital in Ocala did more than 200 prostatectomies with the robot last year, Bobbitt said.

"That hospital probably would have done 15 or 20 prostatectomies if they hadn't had the da Vinci," he said.

The da Vinci technology could attract patients from beyond Baptist's five-county market area, Stein said.

"There is a possibility that individuals seeking this kind of intervention, and not able to find it wherever they are, might come for it," he said.

Baptist expects to perform up to 75 surgeries using the da Vinci in the first year while Mayo, which will begin offering robot-assisted surgeries in mid-summer, expects to do 50 to 70 robot-assisted surgeries in the first year.

In fact, Mayo already uses the device at its Rochester, Minn.N.Y., and Scottsdale, Ariz., locations.

"We are going to be leveraging that experience as we move forward here in Mayo Jacksonville," said Todd Igel, chairman of Mayo's department of urology. "It's just another tool or technology that assists us in taking care of our patients and that's our main focus."

Minimally invasive surgery is gaining converts because it requires smaller incisions in the body reducing physical scarring and pain. It also means patients can recover faster and trim expensive hospital stays.

Robot-assisted surgery can cut in half the recovery times for prostatectomies compared with open surgery, Igel said. But the operating time for robot-assisted surgeries can initially take twice as long as surgeons get comfortable with the technology.

The da Vinci system also eliminates two downsides of laparoscopy -- a kind of minimally invasive surgery where surgeons must rely on two dimensional images and are limited in their movements.

Using the da Vinci system, the surgeon views the procedure through three-dimensional images and the robot allows for life-like wrist movements improving dexterity and accuracy.

"It allows you to duplicate fine motor movements which you can't do with the laparoscope," Igel said. Working with a laparoscope, he said, is "like eating with chopsticks."

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My husband is having the robot-assisted da Vinci method prostatectomy next week in Dallas, TX. I just today found this wonderful No Blood website and became a member! I only wish I'd have known about it a few weeks ago, as it would have saved me hours of extensive research in looking for New methods of prostate removal! After learning of the procedure, our next search was finding a Physician who had preformed a considerable number for our comfort. Dallas beat Houston, although we live in the Houston area. Next choice was Detroit, MI. If anyone has experienced this procedure, we wouldn't object to any feedback. We feel this procedure has put a positive spin on an otherwise very scary and dangerous operation. Thanks so very much for all the great efforts everyone puts into this No Blood web site!!