Minimally-Invasive Robotic Surgery

What is Robotic Surgery?

Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery during which doctors use very small surgical instruments that fit into a patient’s body through a series of tiny incisions.

These instruments are mounted on three robotic arms, allowing a surgeon maximum range and precision of motion as he or she performs the procedure. A fourth arm holds a high-definition, three-dimensional camera that enhances visualization—magnifying the tissue and structures of the body tenfold—and guides the surgeon during the procedure.

Our robotic surgeons control their instruments and camera at a console in the operating room. Using finger and foot controls, they operate all four arms of the robot while looking through a stereoscopic, high-definition monitor.

The robot translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist, and finger movements to guide each instrument in real-time, after scaling each movement down to size. For example, a one-inch movement may be scaled down to a quarter-inch, allowing extraordinary surgical precision and operative control.

Potential Benefits of Robotic Surgery

Because robotic surgery requires very small incisions, appropriately selected patients can benefit from less surgical trauma, minimal scarring, and faster recovery times than with traditional open surgery.

Our surgical system, the da Vinci^® Xi, offers key features to improve the safety and effectiveness of robotic surgery procedures, including the following:

• the system’s two high-definition cameras provide the surgeon with a magnified view of the surgical site, combing very accurate depth perception with a 40 percent sharper image than previous systems
• an additional arm can be used to hold a retractor or other surgical instrument, giving the surgeon more operating capability
• enhanced near-infrared imaging can be used during surgery to distinguish abnormal tissue from normal tissue and evaluate blood flow in real time
• extra mobile “wrist action,” with mechanical wrists that can hold an array of specialized surgical instruments and function like a human’s, but with an even greater range of motion
• scalability that allows the surgeon to calibrate the robot’s arm to move a fraction of an inch for every inch the surgeon’s hand moves, a feature that simplifies the most complex movements, including delicate removals as well as suturing and knot-tying

For many patients, minimally invasive da Vinci surgery is a better, safer option than open surgery, as studies have found that patients experience shorter hospital stays, less blood loss, fewer complications, less need for narcotic pain medicine and a faster recovery. Before now, a patient whose physician and care team determined robotic surgery was a top option would have to seek that surgery elsewhere, such as in an academic medical center. Now, patients at Newton-Wellesley will be empowered to choose robotic surgery here, near the comfort and convenience of their homes—guided by a care team they know.

The da Vinci system was acquired as a core step in the launching of our Robotic Surgery Program. The mission of robot-assisted surgery is to offer the patients of Newton-Wellesley the most unique, comprehensive and technologically advanced care in New England.  The robot is used for Surgical Oncology, Urology, Gynecology, General Surgery, Weight Loss Surgery and Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.

Our Team

The success of the Newton-Wellesley Robotic Surgery Program is a reflection of its core team.  Led by our Robotic Program Coordinator, Robin Beard and senior physician assistant, Sara LaLiberte, PA-C, MPAS, the surgical support staff is specially trained in assisting with robotic procedures. These operating room nurses, physician assistants, and surgical technicians are present at all times during every robotic procedure we perform.  Our surgical support staff has received specialized education in the set-up and operation of our surgical systems, and they work with our surgeons on a daily basis. They also receive periodic training sessions, including training on any equipment or instrument that has been newly adapted for robotic-assisted surgeries.

In addition, our team of physician assistants use their extensive medical and surgical experience to ensure efficiency and safety during procedures and throughout pre- and postoperative care. Our senior physician assistant, Sara LaLiberte, PA-C, MPAS, has been working with the Robotic Surgery Center since its establishment. She has participated in more than 4,000 robotic surgeries in various specialties and assists in teaching robotic surgery to Massachusetts General residents, Physician Assistant students and Tufts Medical School students.