Get a close-up look at the latest medical technology in Live From… Robotic Surgery.™

Classes watch as surgeons at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center use the da Vinci Surgical System to perform minimally invasive procedures such as myomectomies and hysterectomies. Students gain in-depth knowledge of new surgical techniques and are introduced to careers in biomedical engineering and robotics, which are expected to have a significant impact on the future of medicine.

 

Precision tools

 

 

Surgical robots are increasingly common in modern operating rooms, where there’s a growing trend towards minimally invasive surgery. The goal of MIS is to reduce recovery time, trauma to the tissues, blood loss and post-operative pain.  This improves patient outcomes by allowing for shorter hospital stays, faster recovery, less scarring and a reduced risk of infection.

 

The Da Vinci Surgical System

Robotic tools give surgeons much finer hand movements and full rotation of the “wrist” to complete even the most delicate surgeries. Those most frequently done are prostatectomy and hysterectomy but other procedures like heart surgery and cancer surgery have also been done successfully.

The daVinci surgical system consists of a surgeon’s console, a patient cart with four interactive robotic arms and a computer-assisted stereoscopic vision system. Small incisions (1-2 cm) are made in the abdomen and sheath-like portals, called trocars, are placed in the incision to allow the introduction of miniaturized instruments and a high definition 3D camera.

 Did you know?

In the United States, more than 600,000 hysterectomy operations are performed each year, making it the second-most common surgical procedure. Many are performed using robotic surgery.

 

 

 

Female Reproductive System

Consists of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix and vagina.

Myomectomy and Hysterectomy

These procedures are done to treat a wide variety of conditions including the removal of cancerous and benign tumors, pain and bleeding and uterine prolapse (slipping down from its normal position). In many cases, additional organs are removed as well, such as the fallopian tube, ovaries, cervix and even part of the vagina. Tumors of the uterus can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not cancerous and do not spread to other parts of the body. They can arise from cells in the muscle (fibroids or myomas) or lining (endometriosis) of the uterus. Malignant tumors are cancerous, can invade surrounding tissues and can spread to other parts of the body (metastasize).