[August 12, 2011] Robot had patient golfing again in days Tweet FORT MILL, Aug 10, 2011 (Fort Mill Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- During a routine checkup, it was discovered that Fort Mill resident Katherine Lord had tumors that needed to be removed, which spurred her to undergo a hysterectomy at the age of 40. On May 19, Lord underwent surgery that was performed by a robot with fellow Fort Mill community member Dr. Ted Garcia at the controls. Garcia has been in practice for 14 years at Piedmont OBGYN and Charlotte Medical Center in Pineville, N.C. Lord was one of 50 patients to date to have been operated on utilizing "DaVinci Robotics," a breakthrough in surgical procedure that was introduced at CMC Pineville four months ago. And for Lord, a mother of two who lives an active lifestyle, the difference between old methods and the modern influence of technology was astonishing. "You hear horror stories about people being down for six months, and I was out of commission for six days," Lord said. "It's incredible to think about what could've been and what used to be, and I must say I'm a complete advocate for the technology. Surgeries of this nature have come a long way towards benefitting the women undergoing them." Prior to the advent of DaVinci Robotics, the standard procedure was called laparoscopy, or minimally invasive surgery, which garnered the nickname "straight sticks" according to Dr. Garcia. While fairly accurate, laparoscopic surgery was performed in two dimensions with a limited range of motion, which could result in an increased need for incisions and a longer -- or more painful -- recovery time for patients. But the DaVinci technology allows doctors to perform surgeries in three dimensions, with 100 percent of their hand movements mapped out and displayed on a digital screen. Garcia, who likened it to "playing a video game," said the patient feedback and surgery precision far outweighed any initial growing pains required to learn the technology. "I had to adjust to the idea that I wasn't sitting directly in front of my patient when performing the surgery," said Garcia, referring to the DaVinci console's positioning away from the patient. In addition to hysterectomies, Garcia has also utilized DaVinci technology for the removal of ovaries and suspension prolapse procedures. "But the fact is, you can do things with DaVinci that you never thought possible with straight stick surgery, and the sure-handedness of the procedure makes it a lot less traumatic on the patient. I've had patients leave the hospital on Monday and be golfing Saturday of that same week." Garcia says that 80 percent of patients are 80 percent recovered in two weeks, 90 percent are 90 percent recovered by three weeks, and 98 percent of patients are 98 percent recovered by week four. This compares favorably to open procedure patients, who often spend in upwards of three days at the hospital, with 75 percent of patients expected to be 75 percent recovered by the fourth week. Looking ahead, Garcia suspects that DaVinci Robotics are a precursor of what's to come. "I think the curve is really going to take off in the next two to three years," Garcia said. "The surgery was used for prostatectomies in men originally, and now has moved on to hysterectomies and surgeries of that nature. I don't see any reason why it eventually won't go the route of general and even cardiovascular surgery." And after returning back to her normal lifestyle, Lord says she is a living example of the benefits of the DaVinci surgery. "After two weeks you wouldn't have even know that I had surgery," Lord said. "I needed no pain medication, and was walking around normally on Sunday when I had the surgery done on the previous Thursday. For someone like me who is an avid golfer and competitive bowler, I just couldn't believe how quick I was able to get past such a serious procedure." To see more of the Fort Mill Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fortmilltimes.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Fort Mill Times, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]