Da Vinci Robotic System in Richmond, KY

There are many different surgeries that can be done with da Vinci®robotic system. We use it for hernias, ventral hernias, as well as inguinal hernias, gallbladder surgery, colon surgeries, and for gut surgeries on the stomach and the esophagus. When we use a robot for surgery, it's not the robot that's doing the surgery. I'm in charge of operating the robot.

I dock it over the patient, connect it to the ports that we would normally use laparoscopic surgery, but there's much more movement and much more precision involved with the instruments that are used with the robotic system. There are a lot of advantages of using the robotic system over a standard laparoscopic procedure, those being less postoperative pain and shorter recovery for patients. From a surgical standpoint, using the robot gives us better control over each of the instruments. It's more precise. There's less movement. And also the instruments that we use with the robot have the ability to articulate at a wrist, whereas when we're doing laparoscopic surgery, you only have movement in one plane. So using the robot is more of an extension of the surgeon's hands. Like, we had our hands inside of the patient, but it's on a much smaller scale.

I love that I'm able to provide the newest technology for the patient. That means they're getting the best possible surgery without having to travel to a bigger city.