City of Hope has upgraded its fleet of surgical robots, providing patients and surgeons with three da Vinci S HD Surgical Systems — the most advanced robotic systems available. The move means three of its four earlier systems have been replaced with new machines.
City of Hope is one of only a few institutions nationwide to have three S machines, according to Intuitive Surgical, the system’s manufacturer.
The new systems provide surgeons with a better view as they work: Three-dimensional, high-definition vision means surgeons can see far clearer and with better resolution than they would with the naked eye.
The upgraded systems also give surgeons more dexterity, precision and control, feature better ergonomics and help health professionals set up the machines quickly.
“The new systems enable City of Hope surgeons and the hospital to handle the explosive growth and demand for the da Vinci Surgical System in the disciplines of urology, gynecology, general surgery, and thoracic surgery,” said Timothy Wilson, M.D., Pauline and Martin Collins Family Chair in Urology.
All these features benefit patients by providing more access into the abdomen and chest than the standard da Vinci Surgical System. They also mean surgeons can remove tumors more precisely.
The new systems expand and enhance many of City of Hope’s surgical offerings. Complex procedures including colectomy, hemicolectomy and colorectal procedures (which involve removing tissue in the colon and rectum) all are possible with the systems. Gynecologic oncology surgeons can use da Vinci to stage endometrial cancers and perform radical hysterectomies, treat early stage cervical cancers, and dissect lymph nodes in the pelvis and near the aorta.
The systems also offer surgeons enhanced ability to perform esophagectomies, as well as wedge resections and lobectomies (lung procedures), through video-assisted thoracic surgery. And besides the hundreds of prostatectomies they already perform each year, urologists can perform nephroureterectomies — removal of the kidney and ureter — and radical cystectomies and cystoprostatectomies, removal of the bladder and prostate.
“The da Vinci S HD Surgical System integrates 3-D HD endoscopy and state-of-the-art robotic technology to virtually extend the surgeon’s eyes and hands into the surgical field and enables us to perform new, minimally invasive options for complex surgical procedures,” said Wilson. “We are very pleased to have these new systems, which keep us at the forefront of robotics worldwide.”
