The Medical Center of Central Georgia Performs 1,000 Procedures with Robotics
The Medical Center of Central Georgia Performs 1,000 Procedures with Robotics
Numerous Procedures Made Possible by daVinci® Robotic Surgery System
MACON, GA (Tuesday, February 19, 2013) –Physicians at The Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG) recently performed the hospital's one thousandth robotic procedure. MCCG leads theregion in the volume of procedures performed with thedaVinci® robotic surgery system and boasts one of the most experienced robotic teams in Central Georgia.
The daVinci® robotic surgery system assists surgeons as they perform minimally invasive surgeries. MCCG was the first hospital in Central Georgia to acquire the daVinci® technology in 2007, and since that time the robotic system has assisted urologists, gynecologists, cardiologists, general surgeons, and most recently, pediatric surgeons. Since the program's inception, MCCG has averaged 155 robotic procedures per year. In 2012, surgeons at MCCG performed 370 robotic assisted procedures.
A celebratory breakfast for MCCG's Surgery Center staff will be held on Thursday, February 21 at 7:00 a.m. in MCCG's Trice Lobby. This is not a public event, but media are invited to attend.
MCCG plans to continue to dominate the minimally invasive surgical market with the acquisition of the newest product from the daVinci® line, daVinci® Si. The new system offers an enhanced high definition 1080i 3D view of the surgical site with up to 10 times magnification, and digital operating room integration. The technology provides the surgeon greater range of motion, as well as tremor filtration and motion control. In addition, daVinci® Si allows for the attachment of a new operating platform, Single-Site Instrumentation. Single-Site Instrumentation allows the surgeon to remove the gallbladder from a single incision, an incision in the navel approximately one inch in size that leaves no visible scar. This is the first step toward implementing single-site robotic techniques in other procedures that currently require multiple or large incisions.
“In the age of minimally invasive surgery, this is another tool to offer patients a safe, single incision option. This is cosmetically pleasing to patients in addition to getting them back to work quicker,” said Dr. RobertParel, II, FACS, Surgeon with Surgical Associates of Macon.
Patients benefit from this less invasive surgery method in several ways. By choosing to use daVinci®, the patient may experience less pain, less blood loss, fewer stitches, less need for narcotics, faster recovery time and a quicker return to normal activities.
These benefits are not limited to adult patients. Beginning in 2012, The Children's Hospital at MCCG became the only hospital in the state to offer daVinci® assisted surgeries for pediatric patients. Dr. Josh Glenn, Pediatric Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery at The Children's Hospital, and Dr. Bryan Weidner, Pediatric Surgeon, are currently the only general pediatric surgeons in the state trained in the pediatric daVinci® robotic surgery system.
Dr. Glenn recently performed a nissen procedure on a two month old, 3.8 kg infant. This patient is the smallest to receive a robotic procedure at MCCG to date.
“We want only the best for our smallest and most fragile patients, and MCCG provides this state-of-the-art technology to the children of Georgia. No one else in the state of Georgia is offering this service to children and it can only be found here at The Children's Hospital at MCCG,” said Dr. Glenn.
The daVinci® robotic surgery system is changing the surgical experience for Central Georgians who choose MCCG. State-of-the-art technology is one of the ways MCCG is striving for superior outcomes for all patients, both young and old.