By: JOHN BERGGREN
Public Relations Coordinator, Salina Regional Health Center
Salina Regional Health Center recently expanded its robotic surgical capabilities with the addition of the da Vinci SP from Intuitive Surgical. The “SP” stands for single-port and allows for complex surgeries to be performed through a single, small incision – typically 2.5 cm to 4 cm in length.
Like the multi-port da Vinci systems that have been utilized at Salina Regional since 2009, the single-port system offers the surgeon a highly-magnified view of the surgical field while seated at a computer console a few feet away from the patient table where hand and foot controls are utilized to maneuver the robotic instruments.
The single-port utilizes three multi-jointed, wristed instruments and a 3D HD camera that is contained within the single cannula and connected to the robotic arm of the machine. The technology is utilized for urologic surgeries of the prostate, bladder and kidney.
“For many urologic surgeries the single-port technology allows us to take advantage of the precision and minimally-invasive benefits of robotic surgery through a single, small incision,” said Salina Urologist Ryan Payne, M.D. “Through our first cases with the technology, patients are clearly having less pain, fewer side effects and quicker recoveries. About half of them go home without the use of narcotic pain medicine, and don’t require any pain medicine other than Tylenol or ibuprofen.”
The single-port technology is advantageous for most urologic cases because of the direct approaches utilized in the pelvis or back of the abdomen.
The more direct approach with the single-port technology may also make surgical time quicker than compared to the use of multi-port robotic surgery.