THE MOSES H. CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

WESLEY LONG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

THE WOMEN’S HOSPITAL OF GREENSBORO

ANNIE PENN HOSPITAL

MOSES CONE HEALTH SYSTEM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER

LEBAUER HEALTHCARE

VOLUME 5 NUMBER 3 FALL 2007

IN THIS

ISSUE

BARIATRIC STUDY SHOWS PROMISE TEAM JOINS NATIONAL BREAST CANCER STUDY

ELINK EXCELS IN QUALITY DATA MEDICAL STAFF CHOOSES PRESIDENT-ELECT

See pages 12-13

The surgical procedures include hysterectomy, myomectomy,oopherectomy and treatment of endometriosis, along withcolposacropexy, which is done for pelvic organ descent, orprolapse.

The system offers advantages in these cases, including lessbleeding, less risk of complications and a faster recovery,according to Marie-Lyne Lavoie, MD, an obstetrician andgynecologist with Wendover OB/GYN & Infertility.

For now, Lavoie is the only physician who is using thetechnology in gynecological surgeries. She began using the daVinci system in late March and has done 20 procedures so far.In late September, Sandra Rivard, MD, an obstetrician andgynecologist with Central Carolina Obstetrics andGynecology, a division of Piedmont Healthcare for Women,was expected to begin using the system.

DaVinci Robot Now Usedin Gynecological Surgeries

Marie-Lyne Lavoie, MD, sits at the console of the da Vinci Surgical System,which she uses to perform minimally invasive gynecological surgeries.

CoverStory

Wesley Long Community Hospital is the first facility in the Piedmont Triad touse the da Vinci Surgical System to perform robotically assisted minimallyinvasive gynecological surgeries in cases that do not involve cancer.

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Lavoie says that the robotics are particularlyhelpful in more challenging cases, such as withobese or elderly patients.

The da Vinci system offers better access to theoperating field in obese patients because thesurgeon is seated at a computer console as roboticarms hold the instruments. That translates into abetter experience for the surgeon and a bettersurgical outcome for the patient.

In cases of colposacropexy, which is often presentin elderly patients, Lavoie used to make a longincision but can now do the procedure withminimally invasive robotic surgery.

Minimally invasive surgery first became possibleabout 20 years ago with the development oflaporascopy, which involves inserting video camerasinto small incisions to show the interior of the body,along with instruments that can be manipulated tocarry out surgical procedures. But laporascopy hassome limitations and can only be used in a relativelysmall number of surgical procedures.

With laporascopy, surgeons see the operatingfield on a two-dimensional monitor and havelimited hand movements. By comparison, the daVinci system gives a 3-D view of the operating field,seven degrees of hand movement and computer-controlled movements that replicate a surgeon’shand dexterity.

“The patient is going to have less pain, a shorterrecovery, and get home and back to her dailyactivities much earlier,” Lavoie says. “There areadvantages to the patient when the surgeon can seebetter and has better instruments. There’s less riskof complications and less risk of trauma for themore difficult cases. And because there is lessbleeding, you get back to your same energy levelfaster.”

Paul A. Jeffrey, Vice President/Administrator,Wesley Long Community Hospital, says the da Vincisystem is another sign of the commitment MosesCone Health System has to provide the bestpatient care.

“It is improving our community in providingquality care and using technology to our benefit,”Jeffrey says. “More importantly, it is a benefit tothe patient themselves, tohelp them go back to workfaster and be able to enjoylife and go back into thecommunity again.”

For referringphysicians in thecommunity, havingnew technology thatoffers more precisesurgery means better patientsatisfaction, Jeffrey says.

Tammy Shaughnessy, who is a registerednurse, had a hysterectomy with bilateralremoval of her ovaries. She says thatLavoie told her she would be up andaround in three days – and she was. Bycomparison, Shaughnessy has a friendwho had the same procedure donewith laporascopy and was nowherenear the same point of recovery inthree weeks that Shaughnessy was in three days.

“I am back to normal – grocery shopping,walking, cooking, cleaning house – and I feel thebest I have ever felt,” Shaughnessy says. “I was backat church after the first week. On a scale of one tofive, I am at a five. The recovery time has beenremarkable.”

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