Robotic-assisted surgery: A safe alternative to open surgery at Inova Fair Oaks

Pioneering Medicine

Innovative approach provides safe alternative to open surgery

Patients who want state-of-the-art technology provided in a friendly community setting can count on Inova Fair Oaks Hospital to provide it. Thanks to the da Vinci® robot, complex procedures can now be done through tiny incisions with the highest level of safety and precision.

“With robotic-assisted surgery, there are fewer infections, there’s less blood loss, there’s significantly less pain associated with these procedures and patients are back to work in a much shorter period of time,” says Leonard Rosen, MD, gynecologist and Chairman of Robotics at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. “We can now do advanced surgical procedures minimally invasively that we couldn’t have done before.”

On the Forefront

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital surgeons who are specially trained in robotic-assisted surgery perform a wide variety of procedures in the areas of gynecology, gynecologic oncology, urology, colorectal surgery and general surgery. Recognized as a leader in both robotic-assisted and laparoscopic procedures, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital is one of the first facilities in the world to be named a Center of Excellence for Minimally Invasive Gynecology.

“We can boast a 94 to 95 percent minimally invasive gynecologic approach to all our cases with a complication rate that’s less than 2 percent,” says Dr. Rosen. “That’s what sets Inova Fair Oaks Hospital apart from other hospitals in this area and the country.”

Minimal Recovery

Because robotic-assisted surgery is less invasive, most patients leave the hospital shortly after their procedure.

“There’s less hospitalization,” says Dr. Rosen. “From my personal experience, 98 percent of all my patients go home the same day as compared to a traditional open procedure where a patient is hospitalized for two to three days.”

For most patients, recuperation takes just two weeks, as opposed to six to eight weeks with open surgery.

In the Hands of Experts

During a robotic-assisted procedure, the surgeon is seated at a console while viewing a magnified three-dimensional image of the patient’s anatomy. With the assistance of a specially trained team, the surgeon controls interactive robotic arms that translate his or her hand motions into precise movement of surgical tools.

Currently, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital is the only facility in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area to provide dual-console capability, allowing two surgeons to operate collaboratively. During a dual-console procedure, each surgeon sits at an individual console, and they work in concert while viewing the same high-definition image of the surgical site.

“The dual console provides the ability to have a second surgeon operating dynamically in real time,” says Leonard Rosen, MD. “It’s also a wonderful teaching tool because you can have a fellow or resident sit at the second console and observe the surgery through the da Vinci eyes, providing a highly magnified, stereoscopic view.”

Learn More

Is robotic-assisted surgery right for you? Visit www.inova.org/davinci to learn more.