The Immense Benefits of Robotic Assisted Surgery
Each year, about 600,000 women in the United States have a hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus. It is second only to cesarean section as the most commonly performed surgery on women.
Women receive hysterectomies as a treatment for variety of conditions, including uterine fibroids, endometriosis, uterine prolapse, abnormal uterine bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, and cancer.
Doctors can remove the uterus in several different ways:
- Via an incision in the abdomen
- Through the vagina
- Laparoscopically
Today, an exciting new option exists for women who need a hysterectomy: robotic assisted surgery. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive, which means it causes only minimal scarring and other damage to your body.
Enhanced Vision and Precision
The computerized system that surgeons use for robotic-assisted hysterectomy enhances their vision and precision.
At Virtuosa GYN in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Susan Crockett performs robotic-assisted hysterectomies and other gynecological surgeries using the da Vinci® surgical system.
Here’s how robotic-assisted hysterectomy works: Dr. Crockett makes a couple of tiny incisions around your belly button. She inserts the robotic system’s laparoscope and other surgical instruments into your abdomen.
Once everything’s in place, Dr. Crockett uses the robotic system to help control the surgical instruments she uses to remove the uterus. Depending on what type of surgery you require, she may also remove your cervix, fallopian tubes, or ovaries.
Benefits of Robotic-Assisted Surgery
Robotic-assisted hysterectomies provide significant advantages over traditional surgeries, including the following:
Better control
Using robotic assistance during hysterectomy surgery allows Dr. Crockett to operate with even greater precision and control than without it.
The robotic system uses a magnified 3D high-definition vision system that helps Dr. Crockett to see more than she would see without the system. The robotic system’s surgical instruments also give Dr. Crockett greater flexibility because they can bend and rotate better than even the most skilled surgeon’s wrists.
Although Dr. Crockett is in full control of the surgery at all times, robotic assistance gives her the ability to operate in an even more precise way. Dr. Crockett is a master level surgeon in da Vinci robotic surgery.
Faster recovery times
Robotic assistance leads to faster recovery and a shorter time spent in the hospital after surgery. Most of Dr. Crockett’s patients are home the same day as surgery and only require 12 days to fully recover. Typically, her patients require only zero to two narcotic pain pills during recovery.
Fewer complications
Because robotic-assisted hysterectomy is more precise and requires smaller incisions, it reduces the chances of bleeding, infection, and other complications. Studies have shown that women receiving hysterectomies with the da Vinci system have less blood loss and require fewer blood transfusions compared with traditional hysterectomy surgery.
Fewer incisions
Most robotic-assisted hysterectomies require only a few, which is fewer than what’s required for non-robotic laparoscopic hysterectomies.
Smaller scars
When a hysterectomy is performed via an “open” hysterectomy, which requires a larger incision in the abdomen, the scars that remain are much larger than those left by a robotic-assisted surgery.
Even among laparoscopic hysterectomies, those performed using robot assistance often leave smaller scars. That’s because robotic assistance increases precision and decreases the need for larger incisions.
To find out more about robotic-assisted surgery, call us at Virtuosa GYN for an appointment or contact us online.
