Da Vinci Robot Reduces Recovery Times
Doug Schepman, 7NEWS Reporter
POSTED: 5:19 pm MST November 6, 2009
BOULDER, Colo. -- Recovering after a hysterectomy can be difficult both physically and emotionally. But a robotic surgical system is providing a minimally invasive approach to major surgery, and reduces recovery time by weeks.
Acupuncturist Julie Hoehing is accustomed to taking care of others. But a couple of years ago she started noticing the symptoms of her own serious medical condition.
"I'd had some blood work drawn and it showed that I was very anemic and it was from real heavy monthly bleeding," said Hoehing.
Suffering from severe fatigue and lethargy, Hoehing consulted with Dr. Lisa Lepine at Boulder Community Hospital.
"She ended up having a fibroid uterus that was the size of someone who was five and a half months pregnant, or a small watermelon," said Lepine.
The diagnosis was not a surprise to Hoehing whose two sisters required hysterectomies for the same condition.
"I had one sister who had a five hour, open abdominal surgery and she said that if you can get it done any other way go ahead and do it," said Hoehing.
She discovered a minimally invasive option at Boulder Community Hospital in the form of the da Vinci surgical robot.
Lepine has performed nearly 80 laparoscopic surgeries with the da Vinci robot, which allows up to four devices and a high-definition, 3D camera to be inserted through small incisions in the abdomen.
"We have little scissors, we have coagulation device, we have graspers," said Lepine.
They also utilize a rotary blade that allows the uterus to be removed in small sections through the same incisions. Lepine said this new surgical procedure offers several advantages over the traditional open abdomen hysterectomy.
"There is generally less blood loss, again there is fewer incisions, the healing time is much, much more rapid," said Lepine. "Often women will go back to work in one week or two as opposed to four to six weeks."
In fact, Hoehing was back to work in just six days.
"It made a huge difference in my life. It just really changed it, changed my energy level and within a couple of weeks I was up and really doing anything I wanted to do," said Hoehing.
Lepine hopes the shorter recovery time will encourage women to have the procedure done earlier, rather than waiting and suffering with their symptoms.
This technology can be used for several other types of surgery as well.
You can find more information by going to bch.org.