Robotic surgeries exceed 500; OMHS acquires second da Vinci system
OWENSBORO, KY (September 13, 2010) – After a little more than one year, physicians at Owensboro Medical Health System have performed over 500 minimally invasive surgeries utilizing advanced robotics with the da Vinci® Si surgical system. OMHS purchased its first da Vinci in July 2009 and added a second, identical system last month—making it the only single hospital in Kentucky with two da Vinci® Si systems and a dual console.
Dr. Elizabeth Ottman, an obstetrician and gynecologist, performed the 500th surgery on Denise Griffin, who left the hospital less than 24 hours after her hysterectomy. “The da Vinci has allowed patients to recover faster, experience less post-operative pain and return to work more quickly,” Ottman says. “Patients undergoing complex cancer surgeries have not required critical care following their procedures.”
Common da Vinci surgeries include hysterectomies and other gynecological procedures, as well as treatment for lung and prostate cancer. Heart surgeons have begun using the da Vinci® Si to bypass blocked arteries; about 10 percent of bypass surgery patients are candidates for da Vinci surgery. OMHS is the only hospital in the state utilizing the da Vinci to perform multi-vessel bypass surgeries, and the only hospital with cardiothoracic surgeons performing both heart and lung surgeries.
The da Vinci provides patients with additional options in minimally invasive, state-of-the-art procedures with faster recovery time and less scarring. Surgeons operate through one-centimeter incisions while seated at a console viewing a 3D image of the surgical field (in 10x magnification in high definition). The surgeon's fingers grasp controls below the console display, with hands and wrists naturally positioned relative to his or her eyes. The system seamlessly translates the surgeon's hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient. The da Vinci provides surgeons with the same look and feel of traditional, open surgery while enabling patients to benefit from minimally invasive techniques.
Owensboro Medical Health System serves an eleven-county region in western Kentucky and southern Indiana. The hospital has received awards for clinical excellence and patient safety from HealthGrades, placing it among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for quality (OMHS is one of only 74 hospitals to receive both honors). Cooperative Health Services, an affiliate of OMHS, also operates the HealthPark—a medical-based fitness center—and a number of clinics and diagnostic centers in Beaver Dam and Madisonville (KY) and Tell City (IN) as well as The Clinic at Wal-Mart in Owensboro, Henderson (KY) and Newburgh (IN).