Robotic Surgery

What is the da Vinci surgical system?

The da Vinci surgical system has three main components:

• The patient cart holds the camera and surgical instruments that your surgeon controls from the console.
• The surgeon console is the control center where your surgeon sits to perform the operation.
• The vision cart manages the communication between all the system components and provides a screen for the care team to view the operation in real time.

The Difference Between Open, Laparoscopic, and Robotic Surgery

Surgeons perform open surgery using handheld instruments to operate through a large cut (incision) that allows them to see the entire surgical area. While this may be the first method that comes to mind, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive surgery, such as laparoscopic or robotic-assisted surgery. Surgeons perform conventional laparoscopic surgery through small incisions. They use long, handheld instruments while viewing magnified images of the surgical field, which are displayed on a video screen by a tiny camera called a laparoscope. The disconnected, or analog, OR environment can pose additional challenges in reducing variability to care teams. Surgeons can perform minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery using the specialized instruments and advanced technology of da Vinci surgical systems.

Does the surgeon perform the procedure or the robot?

The term “robotic” often misleads people. Robots do not perform surgery. Your surgeon performs surgery. The da Vinci system translates your surgeon’s hand movements at the console in real time, bending and rotating an advanced set of instruments while performing the planned procedure.

How does the robot enhance the our capabilities?

Da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery extends the capabilities of the surgeon’s eyes and hands beyond what the human body allows. For example, the tiny wristed instruments of the da Vinci system move like a human hand but with an even greater range of motion. The instrument size makes it possible for a surgeon to operate through incisions that range in size from 8 to 13 millimeters, which is about the size of your fingertip.