Community invited to play doctor with robotic surgical system
Former patients and members of the community had an opportunity to try a machine that is only accessible to top surgeons when Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville hosted an interactive, hands-on robotic surgery experience June 3 in the lobby of the hospital. The robotics experience was also available to community members, former pediatric patients and their families in the lobby of Wolfson Children’s Hospital June 4.
The robotics experience came on the heels of a special celebration. On May 15, Dr. Stephen Buckley, a gynecologic oncology surgeon at Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, celebrated his 2,000th robotic surgery with the da Vinci® Surgical System. The milestone is met by only 0.5% of all da Vinci® surgeons nationally and was celebrated with cake by Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville President Michael Mayo, Buckley’s surgical assistant Debra Motycka, PA-C Gynnecologic Oncology, and other members of the operating room staff.
The da Vinci® Surgical System allows surgeons to convert traditionally open procedures, done with a large abdominal incision, to minimally invasive procedures. Through the interactive exercises, visitors were able to demonstrate that the robot has more flexibility than a human wrist in making precise movements. During the open house, visitors had the opportunity to manipulate the da Vinci Xi’s robotic arms through a console, attempting to put rubber bands on colorful spikes.
“I was an early adopter of robotic technology,” said Buckley, who completed his first robotic surgery on the da Vinci® system in 2006. “I knew this less invasive approach would allow women to avoid unnecessary pain, minimize complications and recover more quickly. So, I was all-in from the beginning.”
Because of Buckley’s advocacy for the first da Vinci® Surgical System, pediatric patients at Wolfson have also benefitted since 2006 with pediatric urologist Michael Erhard, M.D., a physician with Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, the first to perform a robotic procedure on a child using the original da Vinci® robot, a precursor to the 22 robots Baptist Health has invested in throughout its healthcare system.
To standardize robotic procedures across the health system, Baptist Health most recently purchased three new da Vinci® XI Surgical Systems for Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Baptist Medical Center Beaches and Baptist Medical Center South. Other robots in its line-up include a Stryker Mako® for partial knee replacement, total knee replacement and total hip replacement, two Mazor Robotics Renaissance® Guidance Systems for minimally invasive spine surgery and 12 Xenex Disinfection Services “germ-zapping” robots for sanitation.
By Marcia Hodgson, Resident Community News
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