By Kalwinder Kaur
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center’s Ingolf Tuerk, MD and his team’s latest achievement marks the 1,000th robotic-assisted prostatectomy. Within three years, this rare target was achieved by Tuerk, the chief of Urology and director of the Robotic-assisted Surgery Program St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center.
Tuerk and his dynamic team were considered to be New England’s exceptionally potential team to use the da Vinci Surgical System for successful outcome.
Several studies state that the da Vinci Surgical System-based robotic-assisted prostatectomies cause fewer incisions and complications and also less pain and blood loss in addition to shorter hospital stays when compared to traditional laparoscopic surgery or open surgery.
According to Tuerk, robotic-assisted prostatectomy at St. Elizabeth has been preferred by most men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Based on the minimally invasive approach and its advantages, this procedure has been one of the best treatments of choice. A large number of traditional open procedures and laparoscopic procedures have been included among the 3,000 or more prostatectomies performed by Tuerk.
Following the purchase of the da Vinci Si Dual Console Surgical System St. Elizabeth’s, Tuerk was able to achieve this milestone procedure. This new system will complement the surgeon’s potential capabilities as well as provide more precision and dexterity for better performance of surgical procedures. The second console assists the surgeon in-training to take-part and get trained in robotic procedures through the cases under Tuerk.
These two active da Vinci Surgical Systems allows the surgeons at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center to become experts on minimally invasive surgical procedure. These minimally invasive robotic surgeries have been successfully integrated with cardiothoracic, urologic, and gynecologic procedures.
Source: http://www.stewardhealth.org/