Lee Health using next-gen da Vinci robotic surgery device to treat patients

When robotic surgery systems first rolled out, devices took up a large footprint in the operating room. Now, the da Vinci SP, or single port unit, consolidates a camera and tools into one arm.

It works out of a one-inch poke hole making it better for small, precise surgeries. One example includes the removal of the prostate to treat prostate cancer.

“Now we can do it through a very small hole.”

Joseph Klink is a Urologic Oncologist and Clinical Director of Robotics for Lee Health. He sees the da Vinci’s benefits. “The entire robot now goes through one small hole when you’re doing surgery on a patient,” added Klink. “And it allows us to do a lot of surgeries that used to require a huge incision.”

The instrument arm enters the body through a space about an inch in size and is less traumatic on the body. “We can do a robotic prostatectomy by going in front of the bladder and actually never entering the abdomen at all. That’s a huge advantage for patient recovery,” said the doctor.

Reduced risk, speedy recovery

This next generation of robot also reduces the risk of complications while speeding recovery.

Doctors recently diagnosed David Dively with prostate cancer that needed treatment. Faced with radiation or removal, the minimally invasive approach led him to surgery.

“I’ve had friends who had the procedure done the old-fashioned way. And I don’t know if I would have gone with that,” reflected Dively. “I might have chosen a different path had the robotics not been available to me.”

Dr. Klink noted, in the past patients would stay in the hospital for a week or two weeks after surgery. “A lot of blood loss. A lot of issues. Now with robotic surgery with a da Vinci Robot, it’s amazing,” stated Klink. “These patients a lot of times go home the same day with major complicated surgeries.”

Lee Health is the first in our area to get the new robot. It will soon be available at NCH.