Surgeons Perform Surgery Using World's First 3-D, High-definition Surgical Robot

Murray, UT (2/21/2008) — Surgeons at Intermountain Medical Center this week performed the first robotic surgery using the most advanced robotic surgical system in the world that utilizes 3-D technology and high definition (HD) vision that virtually extends the surgeon's eyes and hands deep into the surgical field.

The first two patients at Intermountain Medical Center to undergo robotic surgery this week are doing very well and are now at home recuperating. With the robotic system, patients can recover in days, rather than weeks. There's also usually less pain and less blood loss.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to be the first team in the Intermountain West to operate with the da Vinci S HD model. We've only started to explore all the capabilities of this system and we think it has great potential for many different types of surgical patients, says Jay Bishoff, M.D., director of the Intermountain Urological Institute at Intermountain Medical Center, who performed the first robotic procedure. Urologist Scott Putman, M.D., performed the second procedure.

"It's important to remember that the robot does not actually do the operation — the surgeon does the operation," says Dr. Bishoff. "The robot does have special wrist like instruments that help the surgeon perform complex laparoscopic procedures."

The robot, called the da Vinci S HD Surgical System, integrates 3D HD endoscopy and state-of-the-art robotic technology to give surgeons precise control of the robot's four operating arms. The advantage of the robot instruments is that they give the surgeon the same movement as the human wrist, but at the end of a small instrument. This instrument can then be placed inside the body cavities to perform complex surgical procedures.

It is the world's first robotic surgical system with 3D and HD vision that offers twice the effective viewing resolution, providing improved clarity and detail of tissue planes and critical anatomy.

Intermountain Medical Center is the first medical center in the Intermountain West to use this new 3D HD robotic system.

One of the areas that the robotic system will be initially used at Intermountain Medical Center is with prostate cancer patients. Prostate cancer is a complex disease process. There is no one treatment for all prostate cancers. Some patients are not good candidates for surgery of any kind. The new da Vinci robotic system at Intermountain Medical Center is only one of many different excellent treatment options for prostate cancer.

Dr. Bishoff says some patients are not good candidates for robotic surgery and open prostatectomy and radiation therapy remain excellent procedures for the treatment of prostate cancer for these patients.

"Patients with prostate cancer must consult their urologist and radiation oncologist to discuss treatment options that would be appropriate for their individual circumstance," he says.

The robotic system at Intermountain Medical Center will eventually be used on ob/gyn patients, general surgery patients, and heart patients.