While there are a range of non-invasive treatment options are available to women to relieve symptoms of benign conditions or to slow the growth of gynecologic cancers, surgery remains the accepted and most effective treatment option for a range of gynecologic conditions. These include, but are not limited to, cervical and uterine cancer, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, uterine prolapse and menorrhagia or excessive bleeding.
Open Surgery
Open abdominal surgery can be painful, involving heavy pain medications, risk of infection, significant blood loss and increased risk for transfusion. After surgery, a long recovery (often 6 weeks) is usually necessary. In addition, many patients are not happy with the scar left by the incision.
Fortunately, today the vast majority of complex gynecologic conditions – from endometriosis to uterine fibroids, prolapse, heavy menstrual bleeding and cancer – can now be treated effectively without a big incision — with da Vinci® Surgery.
da Vinci Surgery for gynecologic conditions requires only a few small incisions, so you can get back to life faster — within days rather than the usual weeks required with traditional surgery. Also, surgeons using the da Vinci System can operate using minimally invasive techniques on a wider range of women — even those with large uteri, high BMIs and adhesions due to prior pelvic procedures like C-section.
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Approximately 20 years ago, surgeons began practicing a new approach to performing surgery, an approach that came to be known as minimally invasive surgery, or MIS. During this era, tiny cameras in instruments called endoscopes or laparoscopes were introduced. These visual and surgical aids could be inserted in the patient’s body through small ports.
Although revolutionary in its positive effect on patient trauma and recovery times, MIS encountered significant technical drawbacks. The surgeon operated using a standard 2D monitor instead of looking at his or her hands. The resulting image flattened the natural depth of field, and the fixed-wrist instruments limited his/her dexterity. The lack of 3D visualization of the operative field, the poor ergonomic design and reduced control were major roadblocks to further progress. As a result, this type of MIS turned out to be suitable for a narrow range of surgical procedures.
In the late 1990s, another evolutionary stage in the development of surgical technique was achieved with the application of robotics to surgical technology. At the forefront of this new era, Intuitive Surgical introduced the da Vinci ® Surgical System. The da Vinci System features wristed instruments with seven degrees of freedom, three-dimensional, intuitive visualization and ergonomic comfort. These innovations created the preconditions for minimally invasive solutions to complex procedures in a wide range of surgical specialties. Today, Intuitive Surgical’s products continue to enable a new generation of surgical advancements, providing benefits to surgeons, hospitals and patients.
