The da Vinci Surgical Robot
City of Hope’s surgical teams utilize four da Vinci Surgical Systems – the only commercially available, Food and Drug Administration-approved technology that can provide the surgeon with the precision, dexterity and control of traditional open surgery, while only requiring 1-2 cm incisions.

City of Hope surgeons, already renowned internationally for their broad experience and expertise in oncologic surgery, now have a powerful advantage in performing their work. These state-of-the-art systems provide a three-dimensional computer visualization system to manipulate four robotic arms. One of the arms holds a pencil-sized video camera inserted through a tiny incision to provide magnified, three-dimensional images of the surgical site.

The surgeon uses hand controls to guide the other robotic arms, which hold laparoscopic surgical instruments. This technology converts the surgeon’s large hand movements into precise, small movements, resulting in greater dexterity. The robotic arms can even rotate a full 360 degrees, allowing the surgeon to move surgical instruments with greater accuracy, flexibility, and range of motion.

Extending the Surgeon’s Skills – and Benefiting the Patient
While laparoscopic techniques have become standard for many surgeries, the surgical robot extends even the most skilled surgeon’s capabilities by allowing for better visualization and greater surgical accuracy.

“This robotic system allows doctors to see inside the body in three dimensions, and operate using tiny precision instruments that we can maneuver by using our hands in a more natural way than in a standard manual laparoscopy,” according to Timothy Wilson, M.D., Pauline and Martin Collins Family Chair in Urology and chief of the Division of Urology and Urologic Oncology at City of Hope.

The benefits to the patient often include:

• Less post-operative pain
• Less blood loss
• Minimal involvement of delicate surrounding tissues and nerves
• Fewer side effects
• Shorter hospitalization time
• Speedier recovery

Publications
Click here for a list of journal articles by City of Hope physicians and scientists related to minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Surgical Programs Performing Robotic & Minimally Invasive Procedures

• Brain Tumor Program
• Gastrointestinal Cancer Program
• Gynecological Cancer Program
• Liver Tumor Program
• Lung and Thoracic Cancer Program
• Prostate Cancer Program
• Radiation Oncology Program