Robotic Surgery

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The surgeons at Merit Health Woman's Hospital perform robotic surgery - a minimally invasive approach to surgery that allows surgeons to perform complex surgical procedures through small incisions. For patients, robotic surgery may offer:

• Less pain and scarring
• Lower risk of infection
• Shorter hospital stays
• Quicker recovery

When medication, lifestyle changes and other non-surgical treatments cannot relieve symptoms, surgery is the accepted treatment for a broad range of conditions. But surgery can be a scary proposition, no matter how routine the procedure. If your physician recommends surgery, you want to learn as much as you can about your surgical options and find the physician and hospital that can provide the procedure and approach that are right for you.

While surgery is generally the most effective treatment option for a range of conditions, traditional open surgery with a large incision has its drawbacks – pain, trauma, long recovery time and risk of infection. Fortunately, less invasive options are available to many patients facing surgery. The most common of these is conventional laparoscopic surgery, in which small incisions are used to insert long-shafted instruments. While laparoscopy is effective for many routine procedures, it has inherent limitations when either the procedure or the anatomy is challenging or complex.

Robotic surgery is similar to laparoscopic techniques, in which small incisions are made near the surgical treatment area. From a console in the operating room, the surgeon remotely manipulates surgical instruments, which are attached to robotic arms, to perform surgery through the incisions. A powerful camera provides magnified, 3-D images to provide clear details of the surgical area. Robotic technology gives surgeons enhanced dexterity, precision and range of motion.

Surgeons can perform a variety of robotic-assisted procedures, including:

• Colorectal surgery
• General surgery
• Gynecological surgery, including hysterectomy and fibroid surgery (myomectomy)
• Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for mouth and throat cancers
• Thyroid surgery
• Urologic surgery