A medical team in Owensboro is preparing to use a robotic surgical unit to perform a single-incision gall bladder removal. Friday's procedure at Owensboro Medical Health System will use a device known as the da Vinci Surgical System, which has been in use there since 2009.
Surgeons will guide the robotic arms of the system to remove a patient’s gall bladder through a single incision, as opposed to multiple incisions that lead to increased scarring and pain during the recovery process.
Surgeon Brad Cornell told WKU Public Radio the new technology is easier on the doctor, too.
“da Vinci has developed instruments that allow you to dissect out the gall bladder without having a lot of difficulty with the instruments sword-fighting through the same, small incision. If you tried that with a laparoscopic surgical device, it would be somewhat challenging," he said.
The average time to remove a gallbladder with single-incision robotics is about 70 minutes. Robotic surgeries are being increasingly used at hospitals nationally for gynecological, heart, lung, and prostate surgeries.