Robots take over the operating room

Hysterectomy patients have compared it to taking a short nap. Heart surgery patients are back on their feet in just a few weeks. Prostate surgery patients have awakened with virtually no pain. Scars are smaller, and recoveries are quicker.

For the first time, da Vinci robotic surgery will be available in central and southern Delaware.

A new da Vinci Si Surgical System robot was recently installed in the Kent General Hospital operating room.

The da Vinci Surgical System is a robotic surgical system operated by a specially trained surgeon for a wide range of surgeries including prostatectomy, hysterectomy, myomectomy, coronary artery bypass, mitral valve repair and colorectal surgery.

Da Vinci Robotic surgeries are minimally invasive, which allows patients to recover far more quickly with less pain and smaller scars than with traditional surgery.

“The da Vinci Surgical System gives our surgeons unparalleled precision, dexterity and control and enables a minimally invasive approach for many complex surgical procedures. This will help us provide the best possible outcomes for our patients,” said Bayhealth Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gary Siegelman.

“The bottom line is patients will have a much faster, less painful recovery and get back to their lives more quickly,” said Bayhealth Obstetrical and Gynecologic Surgeon Dr. Scott Bovelsky, who chairs the Bayhealth Robotics Steering Committee.

For example, traditional surgery on a gynecological cancer patient would typically involve a 25- to 30-centimeter incision, four to six days of hospitalization, and six to eight weeks of recovery.

By contrast, surgery using a da Vinci Surgical System requires only a few incisions of 1 to 1.5 centimeters and overnight hospitalization, and allows a patient to return to daily, nonstrenuous activities within two to three weeks.