Wehberg, Beebe aiming for the top in robotic surgery

Dr. Kurt Wehberg, in full scrubs, sat down at a da Vinci XI robotic surgery console recently in an operating room at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes. Looking at a three-dimensional full-color screen, he had a highly magnified view of the chest area where the patient’s surgery would take place.

Following a plan discussed minutely with the entire patient team, he manipulated the precision instruments of the robot’s four arms to proceed step-by-step from opening incision to closing sutures. While he worked at the console, Wehburg’s longtime physician’s assistant Ty Huskey stood at the patient’s side 20 feet away, monitoring each movement of the robot’s arms and instruments.

Fifteen minutes later, the incision closed and stitched, the team completed the surgery. As they have for hundreds of times over the past several years, Wehburg and Huskey made eye contact above their masks. “We look at each other as if to say: ‘How amazing is this? Can you believe what we’re doing?’” said Huskey.

In that 15 minutes, the team used the robot to enter the patient’s chest cavity between the ribs to repair a serious heart problem.

“Before robotic surgery,” said Dr. Wehberg, “that operation would have required hours, including the chest wide open, and seven days in the hospital, not to mention about six months of recovery and considerable pain. Instead, the patient was back to work in five days and drove back to see me in seven days. That is what robotic surgery is allowing: shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery and faster return to normal daily activities.”

Wehberg joined the Beebe team recently as co-chief of cardiothoracic surgery, chief of robotics, and vice president of clinical innovation. He came to Beebe from Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury where he and Huskey worked together for years developing a robotic surgery program. “In Salisbury, we were No. 5 and 6 in the country for volume of surgeries and outcomes.”

At Beebe, Wehberg said, he is working with the best technology available – the daVinci XI debuted in 2016 – and is assembling what he calls a dream team. “Beebe has the foundation to do that. The people here are very intelligent, compassionate and committed. They really care.”

Transforming the culture

Rick Schaffner, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Beebe, agreed that robotic surgery will transform the culture at Beebe. “That’s what makes us attractive,” said Schaffner. “We look for ways to serve our communities better. One of our core values is ‘always learning, always growing.’ People here want to advance in what they’re doing. We’re very patient-centric. Our ability to bring teams together around complex medical conditions is what distinguishes us.”

Christina Deidesheimer, director of marketing and communications for Beebe, helped set up my interview with Dr. Wehberg and Ty Huskey. “Judy Aliquo, Beebe Medical Foundation president, always reminds me how important it is to tell everyone that Beebe Healthcare is a community-owned facility,” said Deidesheimer. “And it’s the generosity of our donors that allows us to afford technology like the da Vinci XI to serve our communities better.”

Wehburgh said in five years he expects Beebe Healthcare to have the pre-eminent East Coast robotic surgery program. “We will be absolutely the best in Delaware. We already have an influx of outside folks who want to work with us. This is an upcoming place for cardiac surgery. It’s a very positive movement. ”

With more than 500 hours of robotic surgeries to his credit, Wehberg is now considered a master in the field. But, he said, the challenging and satisfying part of the program is assembling a team that works smoothly, like an orchestra.

“The primary care physicians, the nurses, the cardiologists and radiologists, the anesthesiologists, the physicians’ assistants, the people in food service and the environmental people who keep the rooms clean – each person plays a piece in the symphony. There are at least 20 people involved in the pre-operation aspect and another eight or 10 in the operating room to set up the robot – including a representative from the company watching all of our procedures – and monitoring the progress of the surgery. And Ty is there to make sure all the pieces are working perfectly.

“Then afterward in post-op, other team members manage the patient for pain and comfort – all to make a safe delivery of the whole healthcare package,” said Wehberg. “It’s a huge team. That’s why we were able to complete another major open heart surgery last week in eight minutes, with the patient going home the next day. That was not the surgeon; that was the team.”