LOUISVILLE, Ky. – UofL Health is now the first health system in the Louisville area to acquire the new da Vinci 5 surgical system by Intuitive, for robotic-assisted surgery. UofL Health – Jewish Hospital now owns two of these surgical systems and recently completed the first surgical procedure utilizing the latest system.
A total of nine Intuitive robotic surgery systems are offered at three UofL Health hospitals, including:
- da Vinci 5: Two at Jewish Hospital to be used with a variety of specialties, including thoracic surgery, urology, gynecology and general surgery
- da Vinci Xi: Three at UofL Health – UofL Hospital and one at UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, used for surgeries in a variety of specialties, including women’s health, oncology, colon and rectal surgery, and general surgery
- da Vinci SP: One at Jewish Hospital, a single-port robot primarily used for genitourinary and head and neck cancers
- Ion robotic bronchoscopy: One at UofL Hospital and one at Jewish Hospital to biopsy nodules deep in the lungs, improving the chances of detecting and treating lung cancer earlier
“UofL Health has purposefully made an investment in surgical robotics in order to bring more options and better quality care to our patients,” Jason Smith, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of UofL Health, said. “We know when patients are able to have a surgical procedure completed robotically, it decreases their length of stay in the hospital, improves their recovery time and decreases risks of infection. Utilizing the latest generation of this technology gives our surgical experts even better precision with the goal of improving these outcomes.”
The da Vinci 5 system enables surgeons to feel more and see more during procedures with a next-generation 3D display and image processing. It is designed to enhance surgical precision, providing new surgeon controllers and making their movements smoother. In addition, the new system has innovative features that help streamline surgeon and care team workflow with an optimized user interface. More than 150 new enhancements have been developed to support surgeon autonomy and care team efficiency.
As with previous da Vinci models, the da Vinci 5 can be used across a wide spectrum of minimally-invasive surgical procedures. Patient benefits may include reduced trauma to the body, shorter hospital stays, reduced blood loss, less post-operative pain and discomfort, less risk of infection and less scarring.
Matthew Fox, M.D., a thoracic surgeon with UofL Health, was the first at Jewish Hospital and first in Louisville to complete a surgery utilizing the new daVinci 5 surgical system. He will primarily use the system for surgeries involving the lungs. At Jewish Hospital, the new system will be used for thoracic surgery, urology, gynecologic surgery and general surgery.
