Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has added a third da Vinci Xi surgical robot to its comprehensive robotic surgery program, bringing the total number of robots throughout Wake Forest Baptist Health to six, including one da Vinci Si.
The robotic system allows surgeons to use minimally invasive techniques to perform a variety of procedures in adults and children in the fields of urology, gynecology, thoracic, general, bariatric, ENT and renal transplant.
“This advanced technology benefits patients through smaller surgical incisions, less bleeding, less pain and a shorter hospital stay than would otherwise be possible with open, large-incision procedures,” said Ashok Hemal, M.D., director of robotic surgery and professor of urology at Wake Forest Baptist Health. “Surgeons are able to perform complex surgical procedures with enhanced precision in minimally invasive way, providing patients with a quicker recovery and return to their normal activities.”
The robotic surgery program began at Wake Forest Baptist Health in 2004 with a standard da Vinci system. Keeping abreast with technology, the medical center added new systems over the years. Wake Forest Baptist was the first medical center in North Carolina to acquire the da Vinci Xi when it was released in 2014.
Since the program’s inception at Wake Forest Baptist, it is estimated that more than 12,000 surgical procedures have been performed, and the program continues to expand to new disciplines and procedures.
For example, in early December, Wake Forest Baptist’s first robotic donor nephrectomy – which is the surgical removal of a kidney – was performed using the da Vinci Xi. The patient was discharged the following day and is doing well.
Two of the da Vinci Xi systems are located at Wake Forest Baptist Health – High Point Medical Center, which was also recently designated as the first general and bariatric surgery epicenter for da Vinci robotic surgery in North Carolina. The hospital hosts visiting surgeons who are interested in performing robotic surgeries at their own hospitals.
“Robot-assisted surgery has revolutionized patient care, and we are pleased to offer some of the world’s most advanced surgical procedures, demonstrating our commitment to offering minimally invasive surgery to our patients,” Hemal said.
“As a result, our patients come from all over North Carolina, other states and even other countries to take advantage of the surgical expertise of our outstanding team of surgeons and staff with this technology.”
Note: High quality photos can be downloaded here.
Media contact: Myra Wright, mgwright@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8806