Lights, Action, Camera

U-M’s World Robotic Gyn Symposium to feature three live robot-assisted telesurgeries

NN ARBOR, Mich. — Three live robot-assisted telesurgeries are highlights at the 2007 World Robotic Gyn Symposium, April 13-14 at Palmer Commons on the U-M campus.

The live telesurgeries will take place at teaching hospitals in three separate locations – New Jersey, North Carolina and Arizona – and will be viewed at the symposium as they occur. The procedures highlight an innovative use of technology in medical care: a surgical robot that assists surgeons as they perform minimally invasive procedures.

Gynecologic surgeons from as far away as Singapore and Italy are in town for the symposium, which is hosted by the U-M Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Arnold P. Advincula, M.D., FACOG, FACS, will be the course director, and other leading faculty in the field also will participate. Advincula is associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the department’s Minimally Invasive Surgery Program & Fellowship.

Advincula, who is recognized worldwide as an expert in the use of the da Vinci Surgical System, says the robot assists with extremely precise movements of the surgeon’s hands, and provides imaging that helps the surgical team navigate a minimally invasive procedure.

“With a robot-assisted, minimally invasive approach, we are able to more clearly discern the tissue planes during surgeries such as hysterectomies,” says Advincula. “This is especially helpful when the patient’s condition is complicated by tissue adhesions or endometriosis,” a condition in which the lining of the uterus is found outside the uterus.

Advincula notes that one of the advantages of a robot-assisted, minimally invasive hysterectomy is that it causes less pain to the body, smaller incisions, and often a quicker recovery time than traditional hysterectomies with an open incision. Another option for women is a minimally invasive (or laparoscopic) hysterectomy that is not assisted by a surgical robot.

The course is designed for gynecologic surgeons already performing minimally invasive surgery, who have either incorporated or plan to incorporate robotics in their practice. The course will review the current applications of robot-assisted laparoscopy in gynecology with an emphasis on the daVinci Surgical System. More information is available at the here.

Written by: Mary Beth Reilly