Advocate BroMenn Medical Center is the first and only medical facility in McLean County to offer the da Vinci® Surgical System -- the most advanced minimally invasive surgical technology currently available close to home. Thanks to a generous bequest from the late Oscar Mandel Cohn, this sophisticated piece of equipment is now part of The Cohn Suite for Robotic Surgery at BroMenn.
Minimally invasive surgery is unique because unlike traditional large incision surgeries where surgeons make long cuts through skin, muscle and sometimes bone, minimally invasive procedures are performed through one or more small incisions. For most patients, the advantages are:
A shorter hospital stay
Less pain and scarring
Less risk of infection
Less blood loss and fewer transfusions
Faster recovery
Quicker return to normal activities
At BroMenn, the da Vinci® system is currently used for gynecological procedures, such as hysterectomy and myomectomy; urological surgeries, such as radical prostatectomy; and certain general surgery procedures, such as gall bladder removal and hernia repair.
The da Vinci® Surgical System allows surgeons to offer a minimally invasive option for complex surgical procedures. Its revolutionary technology provides magnified, three-dimensional views of the surgical site and gives surgeons greater precision, flexibility and control than is possible with standard instruments and techniques.
How Robotic-Assisted Surgery Works
The da Vinci® Surgical System allows for a surgeon's movements to be even more precise by using "robotic hands" as extensions of this own. These "robotic hands" go where human hands typically cannot. Guided by the surgeon, the da Vinci® robot mimics the natural movement of the hands, wrists and fingers. While using tiny surgical tools, a surgeon can create incisions no larger than the size of a dime and perform the most delicate of procedures.
The da Vinci® Surgical System is designed with a surgeon's console from where the robotic arms are controlled with the surgeon's own hands. The instruments extending from the robotic arms then translate the surgeon's own movements to perform the procedure. The da Vinci® Surgical System has been successfully used in tens of thousands of minimally invasive procedures worldwide.
Please watch the following brief video for more information about the system:
The da Vinci® Surgical System
