Contact: Tom O'Connor, (402) 559-4690 July 26, 2000

The University of Nebraska Medical Center soon will be the eighth medical center in the United States to use robotic surgical equipment that allows patients less surgical trauma, shorter hospital stays, and faster rehabilitation and recovery.

“We are excited about this new innovation in surgery which will place us at the cutting edge of robotics with this technology,” said Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “Our already superior surgery faculty members now will be positioned to become leaders in this technology.”

UNMC purchased the robotic equipment with critical support from Charles Durham and his late wife, Margre, who gave a major private donation a few years ago to benefit three areas: arthritis, prostate cancer and minimally invasive surgery.

“We are extremely fortunate to be the recipient of the Durhams’ generosity.  Their vision for the Medical Center is gratifying,” Dr. Maurer said. “With this kind of private support, the Medical Center will achieve its vision to rank among the best.”

The da Vinci Surgical System, which UNMC surgeons will begin using to operate on patients later this summer, represents the “next big leap” in minimally invasive abdominal surgical equipment, said Byers Shaw Jr., M.D., chairman of surgery at UNMC and a Nebraska Health System liver transplant surgeon.

“The laparoscopic field has been waiting for several years for the technological development that would be the next big leap in these surgical procedures,” Dr. Shaw said. “This da Vinci system, with its computer-enhanced technology, represents a significant breakthrough.”

The da Vinci Surgical System, developed by Intuitive Surgical Inc., is the only FDA-cleared, complete robotic surgical system commercially available in the United States.

Its use in the United States began at Ohio State University in August 1999. Other U.S. medical centers with the da Vinci? system include East Carolina Medical Center, Greenville, N.C.; Henrico Doctors Hospital, Richmond, Va.; Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; Beth Israel Medical Center; New York City; San Ramon Regional Medical Center, San Ramon, Calif.; Providence St. Vincent, Portland, Ore.; and Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas. St. Vincent’s da Vinci? training came a week after the training at UNMC.

The da Vinci Surgical System consists of a surgeon's viewing/control console that has an integrated, high-performance 3-D vision system; a patient-side cart consisting of three robotic arms that position and precisely maneuver endoscopic instruments and an endoscope; and a variety of articulating surgical instruments.

The system translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist and finger movements into corresponding movements of the instrument tips positioned inside the patient. Using the robot, the surgeon needs to make only tiny incisions, or ports, in the patient, instead of a longer incision needed for conventional surgeries.

Dr. Shaw said he was skeptical of the system until he used it during a demonstration at Intuitive’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

“Suddenly, the light went on,” Dr. Shaw said. “I began thinking, ‘This thing has tremendous potential to revolutionize many surgical procedures.”

Several UNMC surgeons have trained on the da Vinci? system since it arrived in Omaha in early July. Surgeons must demonstrate several required skills on the robotic system before they are certified.

Among the first UNMC surgeries using the new equipment will be bile duct reconstruction and morbid obesity surgery. The new equipment, Dr. Shaw said, may open the door for many other procedures.

“Almost any surgery that we currently cannot do or can't do well with laparoscopes may now be candidates for reconsideration with this device,” Dr. Shaw said.

The robotic system’s impact will be felt on a couple of levels at UNMC, Dr. Shaw said.

One, more complex surgeries will be done on the system than through traditional laparoscopic procedures. To hospital patients, the minimally invasive surgeries will have several advantages to traditional techniques.

“With this equipment, we hope to turn more procedures that currently require a big incision and three to seven days of recovery time into procedures that require small incisions and get people home and back on their feet much earlier,” Dr. Shaw said.

Also, Dr. Shaw said, the machine will foster working relationships between surgeons and other medical professionals at UNMC, as well as other university researchers, such as engineers and scientists associated with the Peter Kiewit Institute for
Information Science, Technology and Engineering in Omaha.

“Once we get people to see what it can do, it will be easier for us to show how technology can improve the lives of many Nebraskans,” Dr. Shaw said. “This could serve as a catalyst to people, for them to think of what other kinds of technology we can develop and use.”