Even the simplest surgical procedure carries risks along with it, ask any surgeon. When an operation is advised by a physician, those risks are weighed along with the benefits of having the surgery. When you compare the risks associated with a conventional abdominal hysterectomy with a procedure performed with robotics surgery, the latter offers a solution with fewer risks and tremendously attractive benefits.
A traditional, abdominal hysterectomy requires that a large incision be made across the lower belly. Sometimes, this is the most appropriate method for access to the reproductive organs. Some of the risks of having this type of operation are excessive bleeding, swelling, infection and potential damage to adjacent organs. Then there is the body’s huge task of healing the muscle and tissue that got cut and retracted, which can cause complications and discomfort. When a laparoscopic type approach, such as da Vinci robotic surgery, can be used, the risk of bleeding is lowered because only several small slits are made in the abdomen. Damage to adjacent organs is less likely because the surgeon works with a three-dimensional image of the patient’s interior abdomen as a guide for precise, targeted actions. Healing from this less invasive procedure is not as fraught with the swelling and pain associated with conventional techniques. Indeed, the six to eight weeks for recuperation that a traditional hysterectomy patient expects is reduced to about two weeks for the robotics patient. Another important benefit of robotics surgery over conventional is that it results in only a few insignificant scars.
The most important benefit of robotics surgery might be the precision afforded to the surgeon. The daVinci surgery system provides a three-dimensional image of the patient’s interior abdomen to the surgeon, who sits at a console in the operating room. Tiny, articulated and remotely controlled instruments carry out the surgeon’s commands inside the patient’s body. If you search on YouTube for it, you can watch a fascinating video of a surgeon deftly peeling a grape using robotics technology.
When you compare the down time between the two approaches to hysterectomy, you will find that the robotics surgery patient experiences a less lengthy recuperation. Just a few weeks are usually needed in high contrast to the nearly two months that most conventional hysterectomy patients require. For the woman whose physician recommends a hysterectomy, it is a relief that developments in technology have led to robotics surgery. It is a real luxury to have the option for a less invasive procedure which seems to have more benefits than risks. This is good news because there were 3.1 million women who underwent hysterectomies in America between the years of 2000 and 2004. In fact, the hysterectomy is second only to the cesarean section in terms of frequency of occurrence.*
Previously only available in large metropolitan areas, this state-of-the-art technology, daVinci robotic surgery, is available at Eastern Maine Medical Center, in Bangor.
* http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/WomensRH/00-04-FS_Hysterectomy.htm