“The future of healthcare is here,” is what the poster on the wall at Lackey Memorial Hospital’s Medical Arts Complex read Tuesday where the facility’s new da Vinci 5 robotic surgical platform was being demonstrated for the public.
The da Vinci 5 is a robotic surgical system that enables surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures with enhanced precision and control. It utilizes a 3D high-definition vision system and wristed instruments, allowing for greater dexterity and range of motion than traditional laparoscopic surgery.
The Da Vinci 5 is one of only 5 such systems in the state of Mississippi and one of only two of those that is currently in operation. Lackey is the only critical access hospital in the state with this system and is only the 11th hospital in the nation to obtain one.
“One of the reasons this is so ground breaking is the recovery time,” Lackey CEO Sydney Sawyer, RN, said. “Recovery time is almost nothing. We literally have patients walking out of here after surgery.”
Lackey Director of Business Development/Marketing, Tarrah Cantner, added that the da Vinci 5 system is also a great tool for recruiting medical professionals to a market like Forest, and Scott County. “Surgeons don’t want just shinney scapels anymore,” Cantner said, they look for facilities with technology like this.”
The system consists of a surgeon’s console, a patient-side cart with robotic arms, and a vision system.
The surgeon sits at a console, viewing a magnified, 3D image of the surgical field. On the patient side there are four robotic arms, controlled by the surgeon’s movements at the console.
The instruments allow for a greater range of motion and finer movements than traditional laparoscopic surgery and it is minimally invasive, drastically cutting down on recovery time.
Blaise Provitola, Area Manager with Intuitive, the company that sells the robotic system, was also on hand at the demonstration allowing participants to work the arms on rubber bands inside a red bell pepper. He also demonstrated the depth of magnification with paper money allowing the audience read the writing around the edge of the bill that is practically invisible to the naked eye.
Currently Lackey has two general surgeons on staff using the system as well as OB/GYN Dr. Emily Johnson, Director of Women’s Health Services at Lackey and 505 Women’s Health at the MAC. A fourth surgeon is set to join team in the near future.
The da Vinci 5, the most advanced robotic-assisted surgical system vailable, has been operational at the MAC since the beginning of July.
