Surgery Procedures
-
Until recently, surgery for most gynecologic conditions was performed using a large abdominal incision. This is because while conventional laparoscopic surgery is effective for many routine procedures, the long-handled, rigid instruments used in laparoscopy are not usually considered effective for delicate or complex operations. Fortunately, there is a minimally invasive option for treating gynecologic conditions designed to overcome the limits of traditional open and laparoscopic surgery – da Vinci Surgery.
If your doctor recommends a hysterectomy to treat your condition, you may be a candidate for da Vinci Surgery. Using state-of-the-art technology, a da Vinci® Hysterectomy requires only a few tiny incisions, so you can get back to your life faster.
The da Vinci System enables your doctor to perform a minimally invasive hysterectomy even for complex conditions — with enhanced vision, precision, dexterity and control. da Vinci Hysterectomy offers women many potential benefits over traditional surgery, including:
Less pain
Fewer complications
Less blood loss
Shorter hospital stay
Low risk of wound infection
Quicker recovery and return to normal activities
The da Vinci System is a state-of-the-art surgical platform with 3D, high-definition vision and miniaturized, wristed surgical instruments designed to help doctors take surgery beyond the limits of the human hand. By helping doctors to overcome the challenges of traditional open and laparoscopic surgery, da Vinci is changing the experience of surgery for women around the world.
If you have been told you need a hysterectomy, it’s time to ask your doctor about da Vinci Surgery. Learn why da Vinci Hysterectomy may be your best treatment option for a range of gynecologic conditions.
As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed since surgery is specific to each patient, condition and procedure. It is important to talk to your doctor about all treatment options, including the risks and benefits. This information can help you to make the best decision for your situation.
-
Each year, roughly 65,000 myomectomies are performed in the U.S. The conventional approach to myomectomy is open surgery, through a large abdominal incision. After cutting around and removing each uterine fibroid, the surgeon must carefully repair the uterine wall to minimize potential uterine bleeding, infection and scarring. Proper repair is also critical to reducing the risk of uterine rupture during future pregnancies.
While myomectomy is also performed laparoscopically, this approach can be challenging for the surgeon, and may compromise results compared to open surgery. Laparoscopic myomectomies often take longer than open abdominal myomectomies, and up to 28% are converted during surgery to an open abdominal incision. Myomectomy can be a uterine-preserving alternative to open abdominal hysterectomy.
A new category of minimally invasive myomectomy, da Vinci ® Myomectomy, combines the best of open and laparoscopic surgery. With the assistance of the da Vinci ® Surgical System – the latest evolution in robotics technology – surgeons may remove uterine fibroids through small incisions with unmatched precision and control. Among the potential benefits of da Vinci Myomectomy as compared to traditional open abdominal surgery are:
Opportunity for future pregnancy
Significantly less pain
Less blood loss
Fewer complications
Less scarring
A shorter hospital stay
A faster return to normal daily activities
da Vinci ® Myomectomy is performed with the da Vinci ® Surgical System, which allows your surgeon to perform a minimally invasive, yet remarkably precise, comprehensive reconstruction of the uterine wall, regardless of the size or location of your fibroids. The unique level of control and precision provided by da Vinci ® can also help your surgeon provide the most precise and thorough reconstruction possible, helping to prevent possible uterine rupture (tearing) during future pregnancies.
As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed, as surgery is both patient- and procedure-specific. While myomectomy performed using the da Vinci Surgical System is considered safe and effective, this procedure may not be appropriate for every individual. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits.
-
Surgery for Uterine or Vaginal Vault Prolapse
The Condition
More than 120,000 women have surgery for uterine and vaginal vault prolapse each year in the United States . Prolapse (or falling) of any pelvic floor organs (vagina, uterus, bladder or rectum) occurs when the connective tissues or muscles in the body cavity are weak and can not hold the pelvis in its natural position.
The weakening of connective tissues accelerates with age, after child birth, with weight gain and strenuous physical labor. Women with pelvic organ prolapse typically have problems with urinary incontinence, vaginal ulceration, sexual dysfunction and/or having a bowel movement.
The Treatment
Sacrocolpopexy is a procedure to surgically correct vaginal vault prolapse where mesh is used to hold the vagina in the correct anatomical position. This procedure can also be performed following a hysterectomy to treat uterine prolapse to provide long-term support of the vagina.
Sacrocolpopexy has traditionally been performed as an open surgery. A 15-30 cm horizontal incision is made in the lower abdomen in order to manually access the inter-abdominal organs, including the uterus.
If your doctor recommends sacrocolpopexy, you may be a candidate for a new surgical procedure called da Vinci Sacrocolpopexy. This procedure uses a state-of-the-art surgical system designed to help your surgeon perform a minimally invasive surgery through small incisions.
For most women, da Vinci® Sacrocolpopexy offers numerous potential benefits over a traditional open approach:
Significantly less pain
Less blood loss and need for transfusions
Less risk of infection
Less scarring
Shorter hospital stay
Shorter recovery time
Quicker return to normal activities
As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed since surgery is specific to each patient- and procedure.
-
da Vinci Hysterectomy offers women many potential benefits over traditional surgery, including:
Less pain
Fewer complications
Less blood loss
Shorter hospital stay
Low risk of wound infection
Quicker recovery and return to normal activities
As shown below, research looking at hysterectomy outcomes for benign (non-cancerous) conditions using two methods — da Vinci Surgery and traditional laparoscopic surgery — found that da Vinci Surgery offers many potential advantages over laparoscopy.
*Procedure switched from minimally invasive to open surgery due to complexities encountered during the operation.
What does this mean for you?
Ultimately, potential benefits including shorter hospital stay, less blood loss and fewer surgical complications allow women to get back to their lives faster. And, unlike conventional laparoscopic surgery, da Vinci Surgery enables doctors to treat women with very complex conditions or symptoms, such as:
Enlarged uterus due to fibroids
Pelvic adhesive disease caused by endometriosis or prior surgeries
da Vinci Surgery is allowing gynecologists to perform far more minimally invasive procedures with equal or better outcomes compared to traditional open and laparoscopic surgery.
The da Vinci System is a state-of-the-art surgical platform with 3D, high-definition vision and miniaturized, wristed surgical instruments designed to help doctors take surgery beyond the limits of the human hand. By helping doctors to overcome the challenges of traditional open and laparoscopic surgery, da Vinci is changing the experience of surgery for women around the world.
If you have been putting off treatment for a gynecologic condition, it’s time to ask your doctor about da Vinci Surgery.