da Vinci Robotic Surgery

Saint Michael’s Medical Center uses the top-of-the-line da Vinci® Si™ Surgical System with Firefly™ Fluorescence Imaging to perform minimally invasive operations with unmatched precision.

The system gives Saint Michael’s surgeons the enhanced capabilities of high-definition, three-dimensional vision with a magnified view. The surgeon controls the da Vinci System that translates his or her hand actions into smaller, more precise movements of tiny instruments inside the body. Although the device is sometimes referred to as a “robot,” the da Vinci System cannot act on its own – surgery is performed 100 percent by the physician.

This technology allows surgeons to perform complex procedures through just a few tiny incisions that are roughly the size of a dime. The surgeon manipulates the instruments and performs the operation with the robot translating the motion of the surgeon’s hand, wrist and finger into the precise, real-time movement of surgical instruments. As a result, patients have the opportunity to get back to their lives faster – without many of the usual recovery issues encountered following major surgery.

The system’s fluorescent capabilities allow physicians to better visualize and evaluate blood flow. This technological advancement can result in significant reductions in blood loss, giving the physician better visibility of tissue, and ultimately result in better outcomes.

The da Vinci System has been used successfully worldwide in hundreds of thousands of procedures to date. The enabling features of the da Vinci System raise the standard of care for complex surgeries. This translates into numerous potential patient benefits compared to open surgery, including:

• Less pain and less blood loss
• Shorter hospital stays and fewer complications
• Faster return to normal activities

The Department of Surgery at Saint Michael’s is using the da Vinci Surgical System in a variety of medical applications including:

• Prostate cancer
• Endometriosis
• Hysterectomy
• Kidney cancer
• Gynecologic cancers
• Uterine fibroids
• Bladder cancer
• Pelvic floor conditions

By providing surgeons at Saint Michael’s Medical Center with superior vision, enhanced dexterity, greater precision and ergonomic comfort, the da Vinci Surgical System makes it possible for them to perform minimally invasive procedures involving complex and delicate dissection or reconstruction.