Aiken Regional Medical Centers is inviting the community for an up-close look and a chance to test drive their da Vinci Xi® Robotic Surgical System. A team of surgeons will also be on hand to answer questions about procedures used with the robot and the benefits of robotic surgery.
The event will be held today, August 15, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in Aiken Regional’s main lobby, at 302 University Parkway in Aiken.
“The da Vinci Xi® Robot has taken minimally invasive surgery to a new cutting edge,” says Lorenzo Sampson, MD, FACS, a general surgeon at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. “Surgeons can perform surgical procedures with less postoperative pain for the patient and better accuracy, 3D visualization, and much-needed ergonomics for the surgeon.”
The da Vinci Xi® Robot is being used for general, gynecologic, and urologic surgeries. The team of robotic surgeons at Aiken Regional has performed more than 1,000 robotic-assisted surgeries. Two of the surgeons have earned the status of da Vinci® Super User.
“Having a smaller incision often means fewer complications than with traditional open surgery, including less blood loss and the need for transfusions, less pain, less scarring, shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery time, less risk of infection, and a faster return to normal activities,” says Frank Chase, MD, FACS, a general surgeon with Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
Every hospital in the CSRA has utilized robotic surgery for several years, but last month Doctors Hospital of Augusta upgraded to the latest model, the da Vinci 5, which offers real-time feedback to the surgeon operating the robot.
The da Vinci Xi® robotic system is manufactured by California-based Intuitive Surgical and is now in use at more than 8,600 hospitals around the world. The base cost of the da Vinci Xi system is between $2 million and $2.4 million.
Editor’s Note:
Mitzi Oxford is a veteran broadcaster and features writer who also worked at the same television station in Columbus, Georgia as Augusta’s Brad Means! If you have a South Carolina story idea for Mitzi, please email her at mitzioxfordcreative@gmail.com.
