Robotic Surgery in Columbus, Ohio: Patients Recover from Surgery Faster and With Less Scarring

    COLUMBUS, OH, January 04, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With a little robotic assistance during surgery, physicians at Grant Medical Center and Riverside Methodist Hospital, part of OhioHealth, a not-for-profit family of hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, are helping patients achieve faster recovery, experience minimal pain and avoid complex, open incisions while undergoing some of the most common surgeries. Physicians at these two facilities are utilizing robotic surgery to perform complex and delicate procedures through very small incisions, and with remarkable precision.

Because of this revolutionary treatment, patients such as Phyllis Sage, a hysterectomy patient, and Gary Dunkle, a prostrate cancer survivor, experienced the benefits of robotic surgery, helping them return to their life faster.

Sage, of Sunbury, Ohio, said, "Even the thought of having an abdominal incision was painful. When I learned I was a good candidate for robotic surgery, I felt a sense of relief." Gynecologist Uma Ananth, MD, at Riverside Methodist Hospitial, performed Sage's robotic hysterectomy. "Having this advanced, minimally invasive technique at the physician's fingertips improves the overall patient experience," Dr. Ananth said.

Dr. Roy Brown, at Grant Medical Center, performed Dunkle's surgery. "After learning this innovative procedure was taking place at Grant Medical Center, I was immediately sold on the idea of faster recovery and less scarring," Dunkle said. "I felt confident in my doctor's recommendation to treat my cancer through this procedure."

Robotic surgery, the newest and most advanced technology for minimally invasive surgery, is considered an alternative to both open-incision surgery and laparoscopy procedures. For patients, robotic surgery creates:

• less trauma for the patient
• less risk of complications
• smaller incisions
• less pain
• less blood loss
• less scarring
• less pain medication
• faster recovery time
• shorter hospital stay
• quicker return to normal activities

"Robotic surgery at Grant Medical Center continues to grow as more patients learn about this procedure," Dr. Brown said. "Just in prostatectomy cases alone, 92 percent are now being removed robotically."

In fact, urology and gynecology are becoming two of the fast growing fields in robotic surgery. Gynecologists are using the technology to treat everything from fibroids, abnormal periods and endometriosis to ovarian tumors, pelvic prolapse and female cancers. Using the robotic system, gynecologists can also perform hysterectomies, myomectomies and lymph node biopsies. Urologists have utilized robotic surgery to remove the prostate gland to treat cancer, repair obstructed kidneys, repair bladder abnormalities and remove diseased kidneys.

Using the da Vinci Surgical System, surgeons at Riverside Methodist Hospital and Grant Medical Center perform the operations from a console, while viewing a 3-D image of the affected area of the patient's body. The physician uses a patient-side robotic cart with four arms to perform the procedure. The surgeon's fingers grasp the master controls below the display, and the system translates the physician's hand, wrist and finger movements into precise real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient.

"There are far more benefits if patients can have robotic surgery rather than open-incision surgery or laparoscopy," Dr. Brown said. "It's a win-win outcome for patients who undergo minimally-invasive surgery."

About OhioHealth
Named by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2007, 2008 and 2009, OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization serving and supported by the community. Based in Columbus, Ohio, it is a family of 18 hospitals, 23 health and surgery centers, home-health providers, medical equipment and health service suppliers throughout a 40-county area. OhioHealth hospitals in central Ohio are Riverside Methodist Hospital, Grant Medical Center, Doctors Hospital, Grady Memorial Hospital and Dublin Methodist Hospital. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.ohiohealth.com.

# # #