Robotic-assisted surgery has many benefits to the patient and the surgical team
By Steve Cornelius
The Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital has forged ahead with the most sophisticated medical technology in the field of medicine . With the advent of robotic-assisted surgery , the local medical institution now offers their patients an even higher level of surgical care .
The local hospital has already logged well over 1,500 robotic-assisted surgeries since 2020 . Under the guidance of their highly-skilled surgeons , robotic-assisted surgery offers several benefits to the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital patients including smaller incisions , less blood loss , shorter length of recovery and hospital stay , plus lower rates of infection . Smaller and more precise techniques also provide less pain for the patient .
Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital is committed to providing innovative and safe alternatives to traditional open surgery , whenever possible . Whether they are using state-of-the-art roboticassisted technology , minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques , or 3D planning functionality for precision and accuracy , they work to explore and understand all of the patient ’ s options . At present , LCRH is performing nearly 75 % of their surgeries with the help of robotics .
LCRH has a variety of robotic devices , each designed to help the surgeons perform specialized procedures . The DaVinci is used for general surgery , bariatric surgery , and gynecological surgery . The Mazor is used for spine surgery . CORI has specialized use in orthopedic surgery .
In the near future , LCRH will unveil ION to be used for navigational bronchoscopy for lung biopsies . They have also added a second DaVinci unit for even more surgery efficiency .
General surgeon Ben Stivers has been leading the way with his work in the emerging field of robotic-assisted surgery . Not only has Dr . Stivers performed countless robotic-assisted surgeries , but he is looked upon to train other surgeons all across the nation .
Besides the many benefits to the patients , Stivers explained the many benefits robotics does for the surgeon and the entire medical experience .
“ It ( robotics ) actually helps to speed up the procedure to where patients are under anesthesia for a less amount of time ,” Stivers stated . “ It helps us to be more proficient as surgeons to where we can do procedures and do them in a manner where patients are under anesthesia the least amount of time possible with good outcomes .
“ Robotics give us a different surgery vision ,” Stivers added . “ The DaVinci has two cameras that are built into one . So each eye is getting a slightly different focal plane , which gives you stereotactic vision . This is different from doing laparoscopic surgery , where you only have one camera . So it gives you a certain amount of depth perception that is very helpful when you ’ re operating in a dark hole .”
In addition , robotics gives the surgeons wristed instruments . The surgeons can move the instruments , they can open them , they can sew with them . This technology is very different than doing it laparoscopically , which is only a long stick with something that can be opened and closed .
The DaVinci consists of four arms , which is usually the average of how many utensils is needed or how much has changed throughout the surgery . Some of the procedures use three arms , depending on what area of the body the surgeon is working on .
The surgeon ’ s movements are much finer with the robot . It also gives the surgeons immediate haptic feedback - meaning if they pull on something and it ’ s giving them resistance , it will tell the surgeon that versus the first generation in laparoscopic .
Instead of the surgeon standing like in a traditional operating room , robotic surgery allows the surgeon to be seated and control everything from a control panel .
“ It ’ s like sitting in a cockpit of an airplane or a car ,” Stivers explained . “ All of our controls are there with our hands and our feet , but we actually can sit down and we ’ re not standing at weird angles and holding onto things . Our hope is that the surgeons are more comfortable . The plan is to prolong surgeon ’ s lives to where they can actually operate and do things for a longer period .”
Besides the many direct benefits robotic-assisted surgery offers the patients and surgeons , it also increased the surgical workload proficiency at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital .
“ Robotics allows us to be speedy ,” Stivers explained . “ The whole point is not being fast , but being able to service more patients and perform more surgeries . This really benefits the patient in the long run , because you ’ re not having to prolong surgeries or put them off .”
Assisting the local hospital surgeons are other high-trained surgical staff team members and leaders .
Melissa Smith has been the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital senior director of surgical services since 2014 , replacing Linda Cook after her distinguished 15 years of service leading the surgical teams . Smith joined the LCRH staff fresh out of nursing school in 2002 and has performed several different roles in the operating room over the past 15 years .
Robotic-assisted surgery required a major change in the way hospital surgical teams approached their job functions , and it required more extensive training on top of their previous traditional medical training .
“ I had been in nursing for 19 years when we had the robot , and it was just very refreshing ,” Smith stated . “ It gave me a motivation . It changed my dynamics and the role of the operating room .
“ Change for me is always organized chaos ,” Smith stated . “ We ’ re creatures of habit and change is always hard , but our organization really sets us up for
16 • SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky May 2023