Our surgical team at Merrimack Health offers robotic surgery for many surgical procedures. We use advanced robotic technology to help enhance our laparoscopic surgery.
This approach helps your surgeon see the area more clearly and work with more precision during surgery.
Robotic surgery is part of our surgical services at Merrimack Health and brings advanced care close to home for people in the Merrimack Valley.
Robotic surgery helps your surgeon perform minimally invasive surgery more effectively. It may:
Your surgeon is always in the room and fully in control. A full surgical team is also present to support your care. The robot never makes decisions or performs surgery on its own.
Robotic surgery may help with decreased pain and a faster recovery compared to traditional open surgery. In some cases, it may also shorten your hospital stay.
We use robotic surgery for a broad range of general, urologic, gynecologic, and thoracic conditions. This minimally invasive approach may be used when greater precision and visibility can support a safe procedure with smaller incisions.
We use robotic surgery for many procedures, including:
Robotic surgery may also be used for other procedures depending on your condition and your surgeon’s recommendation.
Your surgeon controls the robotic system the entire time. A full surgical team is in the room to support your care.
Most procedures are done through small incisions. Many people go home the same day or after a short stay, depending on the surgery.
Many people also have less pain and may need less pain medicine compared to traditional open surgery.
Yes. Robotic surgery is commonly used in hospitals. The surgeon performs the surgery with the assistance of the robot. Your surgeon is in control the entire time and a full surgical team is in the room. All surgery has some risk, and your surgeon will review this with you before your procedure.
The term “robotic” often misleads people. Robots do not perform surgery. Your surgeon performs surgery. The robot system translates your surgeon’s hand movements at the console in real time, bending and rotating an advanced set of instruments while performing the planned procedure.
Many factors come into play when deciding on which procedure and surgical approach is best for you. Your surgeon will fully explain to you what the procedure is that they are performing and the approach that they will be taking, whether it is traditional open surgery, laparoscopic or robotic-assisted.
Surgeons perform open surgery using handheld instruments to operate through a large cut (incision) that allows them to see the entire surgery area.
Surgeons perform conventional laparoscopic surgery through a small incision. They use long handheld instruments while viewing magnified images of the surgery field that are displayed on a video screen by a tiny camera called a laparoscope.
Surgeons perform minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery using the specialized instruments and advanced technology. Multiple features help enhance the surgeon’s capabilities, including dexterity and visibility.
Robotic-assisted surgery extends the capabilities of the surgeon’s eyes and hands beyond what the human body allows. For example, the tiny wristed instruments of the system move like a human hand but with an even greater range of motion. The instrument size makes it possible for a surgeon to operate through incisions that range in size from 8 to 13 millimeters, which is about the size of your fingertip.
Our robotic surgical system has three main components:
