The use of robots in surgery has come a long way in a very short period of time. The main advantages of surgery by robot are greater precision due to miniaturization which means smaller incisions leading to less pain, less blood loss and faster healing. No wonder that the Ilinois da Vinci surgical robot has become the treatment of choice for such delicate procedures as prostatectomies and heart bypass surgery. The da Vinci robot consists of a console where the surgeon supervises the robot's every move; a cart which is placed by the patient's bedside, and which has four arms which the surgeon manipulates (one arm controls the camera, and three arms manipulate surgical instruments); and a high definition, three-dimensional video system. The surgical instruments needed for the procedure, such as scalpels, bovies, and scissors are mounted on the arms of the robot and are introduced into the patient's body through cannulas. The movements of the surgeon's hands are filtered in such a way that hand tremors are eliminated and then communicated to the instruments on the robot's arms. The double-lens video camera used by the system gives a truly stereoscopic view of the situation inside the patient which the surgeon sees through two eye-holes on a monitor at his or her console. The surgeon manipulates the robot's arms with two hand controllers and two foot pedals.
One of the procedures which robotic surgery has revolutionized is prostate cancer treatments. Normally prostate cancer is treated by surgically removing the prostate gland which is known as a radical prostatectomy. Traditionally, a radical prostatectomy calls for a large incision of 8" - 10" which commonly causes a large loss of blood and an uncomfortable and lengthy recovery time. Also, traditional prostatectomies risk incontinence and impotence. With the da Vinci surgical robot, however, the minimally invasive incision is much smaller and with the magnified, three-dimensional view of the procedure the surgeon can clearly see what is happening inside the patient's body, allowing for much greater precision in the surgery. This means much less pain and a much faster recovery time for the patient as well as lessened risk of infection, reduced scarring, improved cancer control, and a much lower incidence of urinary incontinence and impotence.
Another surgical field revolutionized by the da Vinci robot is cardiothoracic surgery, which is surgery performed on the heart or its great vessels. This surgery is done to treat valvular heart disease, to correct congenital heart conditions, and to treat ischemic heart disease (such as with coronary artery bypass surgery). Traditionally these surgeries required large incisions which permitted the surgeon to put his hands inside the patient's body. As is also the case with prostatectomies, surgical procedures performed with the da Vinci robot require much tinier incisions (three small holes for the robot's small arms) which results in less blood loss and faster recovery. Instead of having to spend months recovering from cardiothoracic surgery, many patients recover and return to normal activity including athletics within a matter of weeks.
The Ilinois da Vinci surgical robot brings state-of-the-art surgery for patients needing prostate cancer treatments, pediatrics and gynecologic procedures, as well as cardiothoracic surgery.
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