Come See the Robot
They aren’t Transformers, but surgical robots have changed the way surgery is done at Alamance Regional Medical Center and perhaps your next surgery too.
Greensboro – Imagine surgery with smaller incisions, fewer complications, less pain and a faster return to doing the things you love. Surgical robots are making that happen for increasing numbers of people. The public can see what the excitement is about at an open house Nov. 1 from 8:30 a.m.- 4:40 p.m. in the Medical Mall at Alamance Regional Medical Center.
While surgical robots can’t perform surgeries by themselves, they give surgeons superhuman capabilities that greatly benefit patients. The tools doctors use in traditional surgery have been made far smaller. The robot allows the surgeon to use these tools very precisely in increasingly complex operations. This leads to faster recoveries and smaller scars for patients.
Surgeon at Controls of robotic assistant
A surgical robot will be in the medical mall so visitors can touch and see up close what the platform is capable of. Surgeons and operating room staff will be on hand to answer questions and to put on demonstrations throughout the day with simulations and models.
“Over the past four years, we’ve increased the number of robotic surgeries at Alamance Regional by 700% and have tripled the number of surgeons using them,” says Dr. Isami Sakai, the physician leader of Alamance Regional Medical Center Robotic Surgery. More robotic surgeries are done at Alamance Regional than any other hospital in Cone Health.
Alamance Regional was the first hospital in North Carolina to earn accreditation by SRC as a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery. Most general surgeries, gynecological procedures, oncology procedures and urology procedures are done robotically at Alamance Regional.
Robotic Surgeries
- Partial or complete prostate removal
- Partial or complete colon removal
• Colostomy reversals
• Hysterectomy
• Abdominal exploration
Robotic surgeries are done 24/7 at Alamance Regional and some emergency cases are done using robotic systems as well.
Sakai and his colleagues enjoy being on the technological forefront of medicine—but he loves it even more that his kids brag to their friends that “Papa helps people by doing surgery with robots.”
Cone Health has 9 da Vinci Xi systems across the network with the newest one at Annie Penn Hospital in Reidsville. Annie Penn has also installed Cone Health’s first Intuitive Hub, which allows surgeons to consult remotely, record and review their surgical videos and collaborate on surgical videos to quickly build their skills.
