News/PR
Bay Medical Surgeon Performs The First Completely Robotic Prostatectomy
November 14, 2005
Bay Medical acquires the robotic daVinci® Surgical System
Panama City, Florida - On Wednesday, November 9, 2005, using Bay Medical's new daVinci® Surgical System, local urologist Warren Hitt, M.D., assisted by Dr. Carlos Ramos and Dr. Michael Jenkins, performed the first-ever completely robotic urologic procedure in our region.
Bay Medical has invested in the daVinci Surgical System to continue advancing its minimally invasive capabilities. With the addition of da Vinci - which is designed to provide surgeons with the same intuitive control and dexterity characteristic of open surgery - surgeons can now offer patients an even less invasive alternative, because daVinci requires tiny ports of access.
Seated at the Master Console, the surgeon navigates the surgical instruments using hand and foot controls. Each natural hand, wrist and finger movement is seamlessly translated into corresponding micro-movements of the instruments. The daVinci allows for corresponding eye-hand-instrument alignment, so that whichever direction the surgeon twists the controls, the instruments also twist in that direction.
The three or four tiny access ports made by the surgeon measure a mere 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter. Through these ports, the surgeon is able to navigate the robotic instrument arms and endoscopic arm during the procedure. This gives the surgeon a magnified viewing area previously not possible for some procedures, such as the radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate).
The daVinci will be utilized for various cardiac and urologic procedures - including mitral valve surgery and radical prostatectomy. Surgeons trained on the daVinci system are: Dr. Nicole Eisenbrown, urologist; Dr. Reed Finney, cardiothoracic surgeon; Dr. Warren Hitt, urologist; Dr. Michael Jenkins, urologist; and Dr. Carlos Ramos, urologist.
For more information please contact Christa Hild at 747-6542.