Drs. Leslie Brooks Gray, left, and Kevin Ward are using a new single-incision technique for robotic gallbladder surgery.

    Two surgeons at Rush Foundation Hospital are technological trailblazers when it comes to using robotic-assisted surgical techniques.

    Drs. Leslie Brooks Gray and Kevin Ward have both recently used new FDA-approved advancements to the daVinci Si surgical robot to perform certain procedures with only a single, inch-long incision.  

    “The daVinci Si gives surgeons wonderful range of motion in manipulating the instruments as well as outstanding view of the operative area,” said Gray.

    The daVinci Si Surgical System integrates robotic technology to virtually extend the surgeon’s eyes and hands. Using the system, the surgeon operates while seated at a console viewing a 3-D image of the surgical area.  The system mimics the surgeon’s hand movements in real time, on a smaller scale, within the operating site in the patient’s body.

    “Prior to using the single incision method, when we removed gallbladders robotically or laproscopically, we used three or four openings or ports to insert instruments and scopes and perform the operation. With this new enhancement to the daVinci Si, we can remove a patient’s gallbladder using only a single, inch-long incision which can often be camouflaged by the belly button,” said Ward.

    “The benefits for the patient are typically numerous, most notably that robotic surgery usually means less trauma to the body, less pain and scarring.   Patients usually go home the same day or may require one overnight stay in the hospital.  Some patients may return to work in as little as one week depending on what type work they perform,” said Dr. James Purdy, chief of robotics at Rush.

    Rush Foundation Hospital brought daVinci robotic assisted surgery to the East Mississippi/West Alabama region in 2008. In 2011, the equipment was upgraded to the newest daVinci robotics, which enabled physicians to take a minimally invasive approach for even more complex surgical procedures and made single-incision surgery an option in some cases. Rush Foundation Hospital physicians practicing in the areas of gynecology, cardiovascular surgery and general surgery currently use robotics for certain surgical cases.   Rush Foundation Hospital is one of only a few hospitals nationwide to offer single-incision daVinci surgery.