Robotic Surgery

Robotic Surgery

At many hospitals, the youngest children have the fewest surgery options because the small size of their bodies makes conventional laparoscopic surgery difficult. Their still-growing anatomy makes procedures that are routine for adults difficult for kids. Large, open incisions are used due to lack of minimally invasive options.

The da Vinci surgical system provides surgeons with an alternative to both traditional open surgery and conventional laparoscopy by putting a surgeon's hands at the controls of a state-of-the-art robotic platform. This equipment offers the most precise and least invasive surgical options available, and Children’s Hospital is the only hospital in Louisiana and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to have this technology dedicated solely to the care of children.

Superior control with unmatched precision

Surgeries using the da Vinci insert three robotic arms into a few tiny (<1 cm) incisions or even a single entry point at the belly button. One robotic arm is equipped with a special endoscopic camera that gives the surgeon full 3D vision and can magnify the view of the surgical site, offering a far superior view than the naked-eye alone can provide. The other robotic arms are fitted with miniaturized surgical instruments, designed to clamp, dissect and suture tissue. The surgeon controls the arms from a console that is located in arm's length of the child. The da Vinci scales, filters, and translates the surgeon's hand movements on the console into extremely precise micro-movements of the robotic arms. This enables surgeons to perform even the most complex and delicate procedures with unmatched precision.

The benefits of da Vinci surgery include:

• A shorter hospital stay
• Less blood loss
• Fewer complications
• Less need for narcotic pain medicine
• A faster recovery
• Smaller incisions associated with minimal scarring

Da Vinci surgery At Children’s Hospital

The da Vinci Surgical System arrived at Children’s Hospital in April 2014, but the surgeons have a combined 25 years of robotic surgery experience. Having the surgical robot at Children’s Hospital has allowed the providers the ability to perform more complicated procedures, with the full support of the child-focused ancillary services.

The da Vinci Surgical System is ideally suited for many of the urologic procedures that the experienced surgeons perform, such as the surgical treatment of kidney obstructions and reflux of urine. Physicians are extending the use of the robot to surgery for other more complex bladder problems such as neurogenic bladder.

Robotic surgery may not be appropriate for every child. Our surgeons are available to discuss your child’s individual needs. To schedule an appointment, please call 504.896.2888.