In 2002, Saint Joseph’s became the first hospital in Georgia – and one of only a few in the nation – to perform robotic-assisted, totally-endoscopic, closed-chest heart surgery. Saint Joseph's is one of the few hospitals in the nation to offer this advanced technique for patients undergoing general, urologic and advanced cardiothoracic surgical procedures, including coronary bypass surgery.
Click here to watch CBS News personality Jane Robelot talk about her experience of da Vinci® Mitral Valve repair.
In addition, Saint Joseph’s was designated as the exclusive training center in the Southeast for the da Vinci robotic surgical system. As one of only five training sites in the world for the da Vinci Surgical System, physicians from throughout the southeast and around the world will be trained in the techniques of minimally invasive surgery.
The da Vinci system is a leap ahead for minimally-invasive procedures. Using da Vinci, traditional open-chest surgery can be accomplished endoscopically, without any incicions involving the ribs or breast bone, offering patients an alternative with less pain, reduced risk of infection and a speedier recovery.
The da Vinci Surgical system is operated by a surgeon sitting a few feet away from the patient at a console. Using a high-powered camera, the surgeon guides the arms of the robot that holds surgical tools which are inserted into the patient through small, keyhole-sized incisions.
The device has wristed instruments, which for the first time, allow the surgeon to move his own hands the way he would in a traditional
surgery with precision, extraordinary control and range of motion. In addition, the da Vinci’s video monitoring system provides a three-dimensional view of the surgery with magnification ten times that of the naked eye allowing surgeons the ability to see the operating field more clearly.
The da Vinci surgical system can be used for the following procedures:
Mitral valve- Atrial septal defect (ASD) repair
- Thymectomy and other thoracic procedures
- dVCR procedures (revascularization)
- Prostatectomy
- Nissen (general surgery for reflux)
- Colorectal
For more information, contact Erin Popescu, robotics program manager, at 678-843-7251.
For more information on the Heart & Vascular Institute, call 678-843-7120.
