Local Dignity Health Hospitals Deploying More Robot Surgeons

Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Felicia Alvarez
Photo: The robot is controlled from a console, which is shown at left. (Dennis McCoy, Sacramento Business Journal)

Within some hospital operating rooms, it’s becoming increasingly common for the scalpel to be wielded by robots rather than a human surgeon.

Dignity Health has embraced this new technology at its local hospitals. On Sept. 9, Methodist Hospital of Sacramento completed its first surgery with a four-armed robot that the hospital recently purchased, said Phyllis Baltz, the hospital’s president.

Methodist Hospital is the fourth Dignity Health hospital in the region to adopt the technology in recent years, joining Mercy General in East Sacramento, Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael and Mercy Hospital of Folsom. The surgical robots, which are called da Vinci X, are produced by Sunnyvale-based Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG).

Eventually the robotic technology is expected to be used in surgeries at least two days a week at Methodist Hospital, for procedures ranging from gallbladders and hernias to urology and gynecological treatments, Baltz said.

The robot is designed to be used alongside a surgeon in the operating room, Baltz said. The surgeon controls all four arms of the robot from a control console, and watches the surgery through a magnified, three-dimensional view of the surgical area. The robot can make precise movements and hold surgical tools for an extended period of time, making it a valuable medical asset.

The robot is anticipated to be most useful for advanced laparoscopic procedures, in which a series of small incisions are made, rather than traditional surgeries that employ larger cuts, according to Baltz.

“It helps you access areas that might be more difficult due to hand manipulation,” Baltz said.

Using robots for making these smaller incisions also means patients will experience less pain and blood loss, which allows for a shorter stay in the hospital and a shorter recovery period, Baltz said.

The robot isn’t expected to be a cost-saver in the operating room, but it may help reduce costs around hospital stays, she added. Improving patient outcomes and shortening hospital visits may also help Methodist Hospital save dollars in the long term, she said.Methodist Hospital spent about $1.5 million to add the robot to its inventory, according to spokesman William Hodges.

The new technology may also help the hospital recruit and retain physicians, especially in its urology department.

“Robotic technology is really becoming a standard in operating rooms. Surgeons want to be where they can have access to this technology for the patient,” Baltz said.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2019/09/20/local-dignity-health-hospitals-deploying-more