Q. What is Minimally Invasive Surgery
(MIS)?
A. MIS is surgery typically performed through
small incisions, or operating ports, rather than large incisions.
This can potentially result in shorter recovery times, fewer
complications, reduced hospitalization costs and reduced trauma to
the patient. While MIS has become standard-of-care for particular
surgical procedures, it has not been widely adopted for more
complex or delicate procedures - for example, prostatectomy and
mitral valve repair.
Intuitive Surgical believes that surgeons have been slow to
adopt MIS for complex procedures because they generally find that
fine-tissue manipulation - such as dissecting and suturing - is
more difficult than in open surgery. Intuitive Surgical's
technology, however, enables the use of MIS techniques for complex
procedures.
Q. Why do we need a new way to do
minimally invasive surgery?
A. Despite the widespread use of minimally
invasive or laparoscopic surgery in today's hospitals, adoption of
laparoscopic techniques, for the most part, has been limited to a
few routine procedures. This is due mostly to the limited
capabilities of traditional laparoscopic technology, including
standard video and rigid instruments, which surgeons must rely on
to operate through small incisions.
In traditional open surgery, the physician makes a long incision
and then widens it to access the anatomy. In traditional minimally
invasive surgery - which is widely used for routine procedures -
the surgeon operates using rigid, hand-operated instruments, which
are passed through small incisions and views the anatomy on a
standard video monitor. Neither this laparoscopic instrumentation
nor the video monitor can provide the surgeon with the excellent
visualization needed to perform complex surgery like mitral valve
repair or nerve-sparing prostatectomy.
Q. What are the benefits of da Vinci
Surgery compared with traditional methods of
surgery?
A. Some of the major benefits experienced by
surgeons using the da Vinci Surgical System over traditional
approaches have been greater surgical precision, increased range of
motion, improved dexterity, enhanced visualization and improved
access. Benefits experienced by patients may include a shorter
hospital stay, less pain, less risk of infection, less blood loss,
fewer transfusions, less scarring, faster recovery and a quicker
return to normal daily activities. None of these benefits can be
guaranteed, as surgery is necessarily both patient- and
procedure-specific.
Q: Where is the da Vinci Surgical
System being used now?
A. Currently, da Vinci Surgical Systems are
being used in hundreds of locations worldwide, in major centers in
the United States, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia
and Turkey.
Though there are many da Vinci Surgical Systems in New York
State, there are only two sites with the most advanced model, the
da Vinci Si HD Surgical System. This
advanced instrument enables surgeons at Lourdes to operate with
unparalleled visibility and dexterity.
Q. Has the da Vinci Surgical System
been cleared by the FDA?
A. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has cleared the da Vinci Surgical System for a wide range of
procedures. Please see the FDA Clearance page for
specific clearances and representative uses.
Q: Is da Vinci Surgery covered by
insurance?
A. da Vinci Surgery is categorized as
robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, so any insurance that
covers minimally invasive surgery generally covers da Vinci
Surgery. This is true for widely held insurance plans like
Medicare. It is important to note that your coverage will depend on
your plan and benefits package.
Q. Will the da Vinci Surgical System
make the surgeon unnecessary?
A. On the contrary, the da Vinci System enables
surgeons to be more precise, advancing their technique and
enhancing their capability in performing complex minimally invasive
surgery. The system replicates the surgeon's movements in real
time. It cannot be programmed, nor can it make decisions on its own
to move in any way or perform any type of surgical maneuver without
the surgeon's input.
Q. Is a surgeon using the da Vinci
Surgical System operating in "virtual reality"?
A. Although seated at a console a few feet away
from the patient, the surgeon views an actual image of the surgical
field while operating in real-time, through tiny incisions, using
miniaturized, wristed instruments. At no time does the surgeon see
a virtual image or program/command the system to perform any
maneuver on its own/outside of the surgeon's direct, real-time
control.
Q. Is this telesurgery? Can you
operate over long distances?
A. The da Vinci Surgical System can
theoretically be used to operate over long distances. This
capability, however, is not the primary focus of the company and
thus is not available with the current da Vinci Surgical
System.
Q. While using the da Vinci
Surgical System, can the surgeon feel anything inside the patient's
chest or abdomen?
A. The system relays some force feedback
sensations from the operative field back to the surgeon throughout
the procedure. This force feedback provides a substitute for
tactile sensation and is augmented by the enhanced vision provided
by the high-resolution 3D view.
Q: What procedures have been
performed using the da Vinci Surgical System? What additional
procedures are possible?
A. The da Vinci System is a robotic surgical
platform designed to enable complex procedures of all types to be
performed through 1-2 cm incisions or operating "ports." To date,
tens of thousands of procedures including general, urologic,
gynecologic, thoracoscopic, and thoracoscopically-assisted
cardiotomy procedures have been performed using the da Vinci
Surgical System.
At Lourdes, Prostatectomy, Hysterectomy and
Myomectomy
procedures are currently being performed.
Q. Why is it called the da
Vinci Surgical System?
A. The product is called "da Vinci" in part
because Leonardo da Vinci invented the first robot. He also used
unparalleled anatomical accuracy and three-dimensional details to
bring his masterpieces to life. The da Vinci Surgical System
similarly provides physicians with such enhanced detail and
precision that the System can simulate an open surgical environment
while allowing operation through tiny incisions.
