‘The Most Technologically Advanced Tools at Our Fingertips’

HOSPITAL SERVICES

SURGEONS AT F.F. Thompson Hospital are heralding the arrival of a new, state-of the-art robotic surgical system they say allows them to operate at the highest standard, offering patients a number of benefits.

The da Vinci Xi is the latest model of the da Vinci and Dr. A. David Peter, a general surgeon who had used an earlier model extensively for years, said this model is “light years” ahead in a number of ways, including the instrumentation and the visualization it provides to the surgeon. “It’s amazing,” he said.

According to Peter, Thompson now has the highest-level surgical camera and was the first hospital in upstate New York to have an advanced vessel-sealing instrument. He said of the
da Vinci Xi, “It will allow us to expand our scope of procedures and offer patients a more complete repertoire of minimally-invasive surgeries.”

Obstetrician-Gynecologist Dr. Jillian Babu was one of the first at Thompson to use the new robotic system, performing a particularly complex hysterectomy soon after it arrived. “Essentially what the new robotics system does is allow us to have the most technologically advanced tools at our fingertips – literally,” she said.

According to Babu, the efficiency of setting the robot up for surgery is much smoother, and better instrumentation means surgeries generally take less time. That, in turn, means patients are under anesthesia for shorter periods of time and have improved recoveries, which can include shorter hospital stays and less post-operative pain. What she considers to be the best feature of the da Vinci Xi, however, is the visualization, which she described as “unbelievable” and an important factor in decreasing the risk for surgical complications.

“Patients at Thompson already have great surgical outcomes – low post-operative infection rates, low blood loss, shorter length of stays, and minimal need for narcotic administration because of our current surgical protocols. We are a center of excellence for a reason. Now we’re making the best even better,” Babu said.

For some surgeons, the new da Vinci also represents new possibilities.

For example, Dr. Srinivas R. Kaza of Lakeside E.N.T & Allergy said that with upcoming training and implementation of “next generation” minimally-invasive techniques, his team will be able to offer trans-oral robotic surgeries to community members in the future.