The da Vinci S Robotic System

 
It’s been six long centuries since Leonardo da Vinci first conceived of robots, but as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. The time is finally here.

It’s the 21st century, and we still don’t have anything close to robot Rosie from the “Jetsons,” but there’s a surgical robot of much greater value if you’re a patient hoping to heal faster from surgery, with less pain, fewer complications, and better overall outcomes.

 
Robotic-assisted surgery, long envisioned as the pinnacle of minimally invasive procedures, has arrived at Little Company of Mary Hospital – Torrance. The da Vinci S Surgical System was acquired in June, and will ultimately be available for use in cardiac, thoracic, urologic, gynecologic, and general surgery procedures.

Two surgeons on staff have a vast amount of experience with robotics. Ramin Mirhashemi, MD, is a gynecologic oncologist who did many robotic procedures while he was a professor at the University of Miami in the late 1990s. Garrett Matsunaga, MD, did his fellowship in robotics and is a certified proctor for Intuitive Surgical, the manufacturer of the da Vinci S System. (Q&A involving the two surgeons.)

With the ardent support of hospital administrator Michael Hunn, a dedicated OR team, and other surgeons willing to take the time involved to become proficient with the system, the hospital will soon be able to offer the highest quality of care to a great number of surgical patients.

For some, the idea of undergoing a surgical procedure at the hands of a robot isn’t very appealing. “I think there’s a big misconception among patients that it’s not the surgeon doing the procedure but rather the robot,” Mirhashemi says, “and that’s really not the case. The robot is a conduit that the surgeon operates through. So it’s a new means of doing a procedure that is more accurate.” The surgeon sits at a console and looks through lenses in the vision cart that enable him to get 3-D vision of the surgical field. The mere fact that the surgeon is sitting is a departure from traditional surgery, and one that greatly reduces fatigue.

The da Vinci Surgical System consists of an ergonomically designed surgeon’s console, a patient-side cart with four interactive robotic arms, the high-performance InSite® Vision System and proprietary EndoWrist® Instruments. The instrumentation translates the movements of the surgeon’s wrists, hands, and fingers. It allows a surgeon’s hand movements to be scaled, filtered and translated into precise movements of micro-instruments within the operative site.

Laparoscopic surgery, which has been available for approximately two decades, uses instrumentation that is inserted into the body through small incisions, the same as the robot. Traditional procedures use large, open incisions that increase the physical trauma to the body and recovery time for the patient. Why, then, is the robot so much better than laparoscopy?   Continue »

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