Newswise — June 7, 2011 – Today, Seattle Children’s celebrated the fifth anniversary of its pediatric robotics program. Since its inception in 2006, Children’s has grown to become recognized as a worldwide leader in pediatric robotic surgery and research. At the centerpiece of its program, are two components that set it apart from the rest: 1) several of the industry’s top ranking surgeons and nurses, and 2) the latest da Vinci robot surgical system, the da Vinci Si HD, which helps the team perform robot-assisted (RA) laparoscopy, a type of minimally invasive surgery.
The team of robotic surgical specialists led by Dr. John Meehan, pediatric general surgeon, and pediatric urologist Dr. Thomas Lendvay, have completed over 200 robotic procedures at Children’s, more RA surgeries for children than any other team in the region. The surgical team’s collective career experience – both at Children’s and at other institutions – includes:
•Over 400 pediatric urology and general surgery RA procedures with the da Vinci robot •12 world’s first pediatric RA procedures •RA surgeries successfully completed with the world’s smallest patient to ever have RA surgery, as well as the world’s youngest to have a RA procedure
Earlier this year, Children’s successfully completed a single incision pediatric gall bladder removal surgery with the da Vinci robot – a world’s first in pediatrics. Typically, laparoscopic gall bladder surgery requires four incisions. Single incision procedures can be challenging using traditional laparoscopic procedures because backwards movement of the wrist is sometimes needed. The da Vinci robot’s arms can move in more ways than a human wrist can, making single incision procedures easier to perform. With the single incision hidden in the belly button, the incision is also virtually invisible. The da Vinci robot may open up greater options for single incision laparoscopic surgeries in the future.
The robotic team has performed several other life-changing procedures including the removal of a young teen’s lung tumor, a repair to a baby’s blocked kidneys, several pelvis and bile duct reconstructions, and fixes to reflux conditions in the bladder and esophagus.
The five year milestone was celebrated with a surprise birthday party for the hospital’s da Vinci robot, thrown by the other devices in the operating room. The robot, recently named Blinky the Surgeonator by Children’s patients, received gifts of WD-40 and a silver-plated robot cake at the party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_OsHhf00AQ.
Hi-resolution pictures of the celebration are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38997016@N03/sets/72157626628012085/
Translating Robotic Innovation into Better Patient Care
Surgeries performed at Children’s with the da Vinci robot provide all the benefits that conventional laparoscopic surgery has over open surgery – smaller incisions, minimal scarring, and less operative dehydration and blood loss. But, the da Vinci robot can often help bring the range of benefits to the next level with the ability to perform highly complex reconstructive procedures with less pain after surgery, faster recovery times, and a quicker return to normal activities.
The Children’s robotic team feels that the robot’s possibilities have barely been tapped. “The da Vinci robot brings many unique features to the table that make the possibility for expanding Children’s robotic surgery services virtually boundless,” said Dr. Meehan. For example, its 3D HD visualization provides 10X magnification, which is especially helpful with patients who are very tiny. This allows the surgeon to make very precise, complex motions that aren’t possible without the robot.
Leading the Next Wave of Robotic-Assisted Surgery
The Children’s robotic team is very active in research being done to make RA surgery better. Dr. Lendvay is studying the effectiveness of a virtual reality RA surgery simulator for teaching robotic surgery and for use as a “warm-up” device prior to surgery. Today, training involves access to the actual robot, which is generally busy during working hours. The simulator allows surgeons to train anytime. In a randomized study funded by the United States Department of Defense, Dr. Lendvay is evaluating whether surgeons who spend ten minutes warming up on the simulator see a boost in surgical performance. “Surgery is a highly cognitive and physical activity,” says Dr. Lendvay. “Dancers, musicians, and athletes all warm up before they perform—why not surgeons?”
Children’s is also helping to develop a mobile surgery robot, called Raven. Raven 2.0 has four arms so two surgeons can work together. Many more advances are expected in the coming years, like being able to see your child’s CT (computed tomography) scan on the console’s TV screen during surgery or adding sensors to the robotic arms to tell how hard they grasp.
Children’s believes RA surgery will grow in applications, and has the potential to open up the option for minimally invasive surgery to patients who may not currently be considered good candidates for other laparoscopic procedures. One day, even open surgeries may be done with robotic assistance because of the valuable information that can be presented to the surgeon to improve patient care.
“As robots become smaller, cheaper and more portable, they will replace some of the older methods of surgery to deliver more precision, less pain, and better cosmesis. We believe in RA technology, and it’s here to stay,” said Dr. Meehan.
More on Children’s RA surgery can be found at: http://seattlechildrens.org/robotics/.
About Seattle Children's HospitalConsistently ranked as one of the best children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Children's serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical referral center for the largest landmass of any children's hospital in the country (Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho). For more than 100 years, Children's has been delivering superior patient care and advancing new treatments through pediatric research. Children's serves as the primary teaching, clinical and research site for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The hospital works in partnership with Seattle Children's Research Institute and Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation. Together they are Seattle Children's, known for setting new standards in superior patient care for more than 100 years. For more information visit http://www.seattlechildrens.org.
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