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Patricia Fisher with Dr. Shyam Dahiya. She was the first patient to undergo robotic surgery at Tri City Medical Center..
HAWAIIAN GARDENS, — With four articulating arms and 3-D vision, the new robotic technology that Tri-City Regional Medical Center surgeon Dr. Shyam Dahiya used to remove a patient’s gallbladder marked the first robotic surgery performed in the area, a groundbreaking procedure that brings the world’s most advanced surgical technology to the community setting.Advanced precision and dexterity has come to the operating room at Tri-City Regional Medical Center, thanks to the hospital’s acquisition of the da Vinci robotic surgical system, the most advanced surgical platform available today. The hospital is the only facility in the area to use the new advanced robotic technology.Sitting at a console a few feet from the patient, Dr. Dahiya moves the articulating arms of the robot with his own hands, using the system’s 3-D imaging system to help him make pinpoint small incisions to remove the patient’s diseased gallbladder in just over an hour. The improved dexterity of the device allows Dr. Dahiya to see and expose the gallbladder as never before. The surgery was a complete success, and the patient went home in one day.The million-dollar plus technology, called the da Vinci SI model, was purchased to support the growing number of surgeries that can now be performed using the robotically assisted device. Tri-City Regional Medical Center officials say the new robotic technology provides even more advanced capabilities for the hospital’s surgeons.“Robotic-assisted surgery has virtually transformed the way we do many surgeries,” said Dr. Dahiya, a general and bariatric surgeon who also serves as the hospital’s Chief of Surgery. “This new unit will give us even more technology to help our patients and their surgical outcomes.
Patients who undergo surgery with the assistance of the robot have less pain, less blood loss and shorter hospital stays. Because we use such small incisions, patients also have less scaring and return to normal activities more quickly.”
Dr. Dahiya said the advancements in the new surgical system includes the capability to support training and collaboration between surgeons, enhanced high-definition 3D vision for superior clinical capability, an updated user interface for much quicker, streamlined set up. The new surgical console boasts ergonomical benefits for personalized maximum comfort during long procedures. The unique instrumentation panel allows a surgeon’s hand movements to be scaled, filtered and translated into precise micro-movements of tiny surgical instruments.The da Vinci Surgical System can be used in a variety of surgical applications, from gynecology and urology to general and colorectal surgery. Dr. Dahiya said that soon hospital surgeons will be able to perform single site surgery as well, using a single incision through the belly button, creating a virtual scar less procedure.
“We are very fortunate to have an experienced surgical team at Tri-City Regional Medical Center who is excited about the robot’s role in transforming complex surgery,” said Jim Sherman, president and CEO of the non-profit Tri-City Regional Medical Center. “The demand from all of our surgeons to use the robot is overwhelming and underscores their passion for bringing advanced technology to the community setting for their patients.”For more information about Tri-City Regional Medical Center’s new robotic technology, please visit www.tcrmc.org.
