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New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network

 

VISN 2: Veterans' Wellness, Summer 2014

     Summer 2014
Robotic Surgery Is Here
Patients benefit from shorter recovery times.

Veterans Wellness Magazine Summer 2014
Richard Howard, M.D., FACS Chief of Surgery
Richard Howard, M.D., FACS
Chief of Surgery

Robotic surgery is now being performed at Albany Stratton VA Medical Center and will soon be coming to a VA Medical Center near you.

For patients, this means shorter recovery times and less blood loss during surgeries, says Richard Howard, M.D., FACS, Chief of Surgery at Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.

“For example, in our experience at Stratton, when we do robotic radical prostatectomy, the patients go home within 1 to 2 days, as opposed to a 3- or 4-day hospitalization,” Dr. Howard says. “The blood loss is measured in tablespoons instead of cups.”

surgeons
Other types of robotic surgeries currently offered at Albany Stratton VA Medical Center include male fertility restoration and colon, gallbladder and kidney procedures.

How It Works
In robotic surgery, a physician performs the surgery while seated at a console near the patient in an operating room (see photo at right). A console is a remote work area that includes a computer and video monitor, along with foot and hand controls used to operate the robotic surgery system.

The surgeon uses special instruments attached to the arms of the robotic surgery system to make tiny incisions in the body. Robotic surgery systems also include a small camera used to view 3-D images of the surgical site.

“It’s really a technological tool that allows us to gain access, as well as increased visibility and precision,” says Dr. Howard. An Added Tool for Skilled Surgeons Like traditional procedures, robotic surgery requires an experienced, well-trained surgeon. “It’s a tool that improves some aspects of what we do, but it must be controlled by a skilled surgeon,” says Dr. Howard.

An Added Tool for Skilled Surgeons
Like traditional procedures, robotic surgery requires an experienced, well-trained surgeon. “It’s a tool that improves some aspects of what we do, but it must be controlled by a skilled surgeon,” says Dr. Howard.


quote - Patients go home within 1 to 2 days, as opposed to a 3- or 4-day hospitalization.








SCHEDULING A SURGERY SOON?
To learn more about robotic surgery,
speak with your Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) or your VA primary care physician.


Veterans Wellness Home
Summer 2014

Veterans Wellness Summer 2014 PDF
(print version)

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