MEDICAL CENTER INTRODUCES THE NEXT WAVE OF ROBOTIC MINIMALLY-INVASIVE SURGERY

daVinci™ Surgical System Translates Surgeon’s Hand Movements Into Precise Robotic Movements

Building on its already superior minimally- invasive surgery department, Hackensack University Medical Center has introduced the daVinci™ Surgical System. daVinci™ allows a surgeon to use a one-of-a-kind 3-D vision system to manipulate robotic arms and endoscope to perform intricate surgical procedures. Approved in July of 2000 by the FDA for abdominal surgeries the daVinci™ system has been in use at the medical center since November.

“We’re very excited to have the daVinci™ Surgical System here at Hackensack University Medical Center,” said John P. Ferguson, president and chief executive officer. “We pride ourselves on providing our patients with the most innovative medical treatments and daVinci‘ certainly illustrates that philosophy.”

The medical center is only one of a handful of hospitals who have integrated this new technology into their surgery departments. In fact, the medical center has been designated by the FDA to train personnel from other hospitals in the Northeast who will be acquiring the system.

“This technology is like nothing we’ve seen before,” said Garth Ballantyne, M.D., director of Minimally-Invasive Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center. “Traditional laparoscopic procedures can only provide you with a two-dimensional image and the instruments do not give you a full range of motion. daVinci‘ changes everything.”

With daVinci™  a surgeon sits at control console which has a three-dimensional viewing system. This console allows the surgeon to position three robotic arms and precisely maneuver endoscopic instruments and an endoscope, and a variety of articulating EndoWrist‘ Instruments. The EndoWrist™ Instruments are unique in that they are able to move 360 degrees, mimicking a surgeon’s own wrists - a technique not available with traditional laparoscopic surgery instruments.

Currently the system is being used to perform gall bladder removals (Cholecystectomy) and to surgically correct gastroesophogeal reflux, or heartburn (Nissen Fundoplication).          

Richard Davies, M.D., of Saddle River,  chairman of the Department of Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center said daVinci opens a world of possibilities for all of surgery.

“The most exciting thing about this system is that it can be used to perform delicate procedures that we could not do laparoscopically, previously,” said Dr. Davies. “In fact, there are trials ongoing to prove the effectiveness of using daVinci‘ for coronary artery bypass surgery.”

Dr. Davies said like with any minimally invasive surgery the benefits – a shorter hospital stay, a quicker recovery time – are directly translated to the patient. daVinci‘ is currently located in the medical center’s Center for Ambulatory Surgery. Another system is located in the David Joseph Jurist Research Center for Tomorrows Children and is used solely for training purposes. 

For more information about daVinci at Hackensack University Medical Center call (201) 996-2959.

Hackensack University Medical Center, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School and a member of the University Health System of New Jersey, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state of New Jersey. The medical center has been honored since 1995 as the first hospital  in New Jersey to receive the Magnet Award for nursing excellence from The American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the second hospital  in the nation to receive a four-year redesignation of this award. The medical center is also the recipient of the Consumer Choice Award in Bergen and Passaic counties for five consecutive years. Based on a survey of 400,000 people to determine the best hospitals in the country, the medical center was named as the hospital of choice for quality of staff, community programs, personalized care, and overall reputation.