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If da Vinci is to surgery what he was to art, then medicine is about to experience a renaissance. But in this case, da Vinci is a robotic surgery system and its canvas is the human body. Named for Leonardo da Vinci, who invented the first robot, the da Vinci system has taken complex surgery to the next hi-tech level.
Jonathan E. Bernie, M.D., chief of robotic surgery at Norwalk Hospital, explains: "The da Vinci Surgical System is a great benefit to our patients because it provides 3-D visualization and greater precision, which enables the surgeon to perform complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach."
The futuristic da Vinci robot is a treatment option for prostate cancer, the most common non-skin cancer in men in the United States and their second leading cause of cancer death. The system is also used for surgical procedures including treatment for fibroids and endometriosis, as well many other conditions. The robot enables the physician to view surgical patients clearly and at huge magnifications, which allows the surgeon to perform precise procedures through small incisions. Unlike the standard model of doctors and nurses hovering over an operating table, the surgeon operates while seated at a console viewing a 3D image of the "surgical field." The da Vinci System scales, filters and translates the surgeon's hand movements into more precise micro-movements of the instruments, which operate through small incisions in the patient's body.
But next week, anyone can be a surgeon -- well, sort of. As part of their ongoing initiatives to promote wellness, Norwalk Hospital highlights Prostate Awareness Month in September. The general public will have an opportunity to operate the da Vinci surgical system in a mock surgical procedure during a demonstration in the hospital's main lobby, Wednesday, September 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the event, call (203) 852-2250.
And as part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and to promote the importance of early detection of the disease, the hospital offers a free screening on Saturday, September 18, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Whittingham Cancer Center. To register for the screening, call (203) 852-2148.
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