Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Sarah Ladd

Kentucky Lantern

Surgeons at Baptist Health in Richmond are now using the da Vinci Xi Robot to assist in a variety of operations, the hospital announced Thursday.

Physicians are using the Intuitive technology to do minimally invasive bariatric, gynecology and obstetrics, urology and other general surgeries, Baptist Health said.

“The robot seamlessly translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient in an area smaller than would be required for the surgeon’s hands,” Baptist Health said.

Doctors operate the robot in the room. Robotics technology can also help surgeons operate remotely.

The Mayo Clinic reports using robots to assist with surgery allows for more “precision, flexibility and control than is possible with conventional techniques.”

It is also associated with fewer complications, less pain, less blood loss, quicker recovery and smaller scars.

Dr. Erica Gregonis, the chief medical officer and vice president of Baptist Health Richmond, said the new technology will also benefit physicians.

It “ensures we are providing the support our physicians need to be able to work longer in the professions we love,” said Gregonis. “Decreasing the stress on a surgeon’s body compared to conventional surgery means less joint pain and injuries.”

The da Vinci Xi includes an operating table into the design as well as an adjustable operating console for the surgeon. For more information on the design, visit https://www.intuitive.com/en-us/products-and-services/da-vinci/systems.

Other Kentucky hospitals that use robotics technology in the operating room include UofL Health in Louisville, Saint Joseph East and Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Somerset and others.