A surgical team at Oroville Hospital, performed their first da Vinci®Single-Site™ Cholecystectomy. The patient’s gallbladder was removed through one tiny incision in the belly button, making the procedure virtually scarless. Oroville Hospital is the only ones north of Sacramento in California with the da Vinci Si system and the only ones who can perform single-site surgeries. The da Vinci’s advanced technology allows surgeons to have enhanced 3D visualization and increased surgical dexterity and precision.
“We believe that the new features of the da Vinci Si System will help us provide the best possible outcomes and benefit overall patient care when surgeries are performed. Single-Siteinstruments used with the da Vinci platform are the next step in the evolution of surgical technologies,” President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Wentzsaid.“We are truly excited to be a leader today in the surgical treatment of tomorrow.”
Led by Randell Skau, M.D., General Surgeon, the team removed the gallbladder using Single-Site™ instruments on a da Vinci® System. The minimally invasive procedure is traditionally called a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder). Using robotic assistance, surgeons removed the gallbladder through an incision of approximately one inch.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared the specialized Single-Site instruments for use with the da Vinci System in December 2011. da Vinci is a robotic surgical system widely used in complex minimally invasive surgery.
"Neither robotic surgery nor single-incision surgery is new, but combining the two to remove the gallbladder requires additional training and special equipment," says Dr. Skau. "To be one of the first hospitals to offer this technically advanced surgery demonstrates Oroville Hospital’s leadership in providing patients with the most up-to-date minimally invasive surgical options."
Dr. Skau is one of a small group of surgeons in the country who has received training to perform the surgery.
Potential benefits of Single-Site gallbladder surgery may include virtually scarless results, minimal pain, low blood loss, fast recovery, a short hospital stay and high patient satisfaction. The surgery can be performed in about one hour with a typical hospital stay of less than 24 hours.
During the procedure, the surgeon sits comfortably at a console, viewing a 3D, high-definition image of the patient’s anatomy. The surgeon uses controls below the viewer to move the instrument arms and camera. In real-time, the system translates the surgeon's hand, wrist and finger movements into more precise movements of the miniaturized instruments inside the patient.
Unlike traditional robotic surgeries requiring three to five small incisions, this new technology allows for a single incision in the belly button where instruments are placed and the diseased gallbladder is removed.
Most people who require gallbladder removal are candidates for the robotic, single-incision surgery. According to the American College of Surgeons, surgery is the recommended treatment for gallbladder pain from gallstones and non-functioning gallbladders.
More than 1 million people in the U.S. have their gallbladder removed each year. Most are performed with traditional laparoscopy using several incisions.
OrovilleHospital offers various types of robotic-assisted surgeries at its Robotic Surgery Center. In addition to gallbladder removal, Oroville Hospital surgeons perform robotic-assisted surgery in general surgery, gynecology and urology. Oroville Hospital also offers a wide range of minimally invasive conventional laparoscopic surgeries.
For information on robotic and other minimally invasive surgeries at Oroville Hospital, call 530-533-8500 or visit www.OrovilleHospital.com.
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Sources:
Kroh M, El-Hayek K, Rosenblatt S, Chand B, Escobar P, Kaouk J, Chalikonda S. First human surgery with a novel single-port robotic system: cholecystectomy using the da Vinci Single-Site platform. Surg Endosc. 2011 Nov;25(11):3566-73. Epub 2011 Jun 3.
Wren SM, Curet MJ. Single-port robotic cholecystectomy results from a first human use clinical study of the new da Vinci Single-Site surgical platform. Arch Surg, Jun 2011; doi:10.1001/archsurg.2011.143
US Department of Health and Human Services. Health, United States, 2009. In Brief – Medical Technology. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus09_InBrief_MedicalTech.pdf. p. 8.
AmericanCollegeof Surgeons. Cholecystectomy: Surgical Removal of the Gallbladder. http://www.facs.org/public_info/operation/cholesys.pdf