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Wendy L. Goldstein
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(516) 663-2234
Mineola, NY – March 10, 2010 – Gone are the days when a robot in the operating room would only be seen in futuristic fiction. At Winthrop-University Hospital, surgeons are using the ultra-high-tech daVinci Si HD Surgical System to perform minimally invasive surgeries with unprecedented precision.
Seated at a special high-tech console a few feet away from the patient, surgeons attach their fingers to robotic controls, and set their eyes on the high-definition screen where a real-time three-dimensional, magnified image of the surgical field gives them a better-than-real view of the area of interest. Fine surgical instruments are placed inside the patient through tiny incisions, and the surgeon is ready to work.
Caption: Winthrop physicians (l.-r.) Eva Chalas, MD, Chief of Gynecological Oncology and Director of Clinical Cancer Services; Collin Brathwaite, MD, Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery; and David Gershbaum, MD, attending urologist, are using the high-tech daVinci Si HD Surgical System to perform minimally invasive surgeries with extraordinary precision.
“It is a far superior approach to surgery,” says Eva Chalas, MD, Chief of Gynecological Oncology and Director of Clinical Cancer Services at Winthrop. “The surgeon’s view of the surgical field is better than you could ever achieve with the natural eye, and the control over the instruments is more precise thanks to technology that translates the surgeon’s movements into exquisitely defined movements by the robotic instruments.”
The new daVinci Surgical System consists of an ergonomically designed surgeon’s console, a patient-side cart with interactive robotic arms, the high-performance InSite® Vision System and proprietary EndoWrist® Instruments. Powered by state-of-the-art robotic technology, the surgeon’s hand movements are scaled, filtered and seamlessly translated into precise movements of the instruments. The result is an intuitive interface with breakthrough surgical capabilities.
“The EndoWrist instruments offer great advantages over traditional laparoscopic instruments,” said Collin Brathwaite, MD, Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Winthrop. “The advantages are two-fold; the instruments are equipped with joints that bend and move inside of the patient’s body, which means that we, the surgeons, have much greater control over our tools, and there is less trauma to the surgical site.”
The daVinci Surgical System is ideal for many surgeries, and is especially appropriate for surgery in delicate or hard-to-reach areas. Dr. Chalas uses the daVinci for gynecological surgeries, including for women’s cancers and Dr. Brathwaite, the first surgeon in New York State to performs gastric bypass surgery using the daVinci Si HD, also performs hiatal hernia repairs, spleenectomy and gastrectomy using the system; and Peter S. Finamore, MD, Associate Director of Urogynecology at Winthrop, is using the daVinci to perform hysterectomies and sacrocolpopexy for vaginal or uterine prolapse. David Gershbaum, MD, attending urologist at Winthrop, uses the daVinci robotic system to perform surgery for prostate cancer, as well as for reconstructive kidney surgery to repair obstructions or congenital defects and for partial nephrectomies, in which part of the kidney is removed.
“My philosophy concerning the surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse is to perform procedures that are effective, long lasting, have low complication rates and are minimally invasive. This makes the daVinci surgical system an ideal tool for these procedures,” said Dr. Finamore. “The system provides visualization of the operative field that is far superior to traditional laparoscopy, and the dexterity that is provided by the instrumentation enables me to perform surgery in a safer, more precise manner. Other advantages include less post-operative pain, smaller incisions and a more rapid recovery for the patient.”
“Robotic surgery with the daVinci yields results comparable to those of open surgery but with a fraction of the trauma to the patient. Pain and healing time are reduced tremendously and return to normal activities occurs much faster,” said Dr. Gershbaum.
Major advantages of the daVinci Si HD Surgical System at Winthrop include two major innovations in robot-assisted surgery – Dual Console Capability, so that two surgeons may work in concert on a single case, and the enhanced 3-D HD visualization, which offers vision equivalent to a 1080i high-definition television screen.
“We are very pleased to be able to provide our surgeons and our patients this extraordinary surgical system,” said John F. Collins, president and CEO of Winthrop. “The surgeons appreciate the daVinci Si HD robot because it enables them to do things once thought impossible; our patients are grateful that they can experience superb outcomes with tiny incisions, minimal blood loss, less pain and faster recovery than ever before.”
In addition, the daVinci Si HD System also results in less scarring than other surgical techniques. This can be particularly important following surgeries in delicate areas such as the reproductive organs or urinary tract and the quicker recovery enables patients to get on with their lives – and if necessary, their continued medical treatment.
“The rapid recovery we see with the daVinci Si HD has tremendous implications for cancer patients,” points out Dr. Chalas, who is using the robotic system for treatment of gynecologic cancers. “Often after we perform surgery to remove a tumor, patients must undergo radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments to maximize the chances of success. The faster they recover from the surgery, the sooner they can complete their therapy and return to normal activities.”
The number of Winthrop surgeons trained to utilize this highly effective tool to perform surgeries that previously required traditional open surgeries is growing rapidly. For more information about state-of-the-art surgical services at Winthrop, call 1-866-WINTHROP.
