CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — CHRISTUS Health is working to advance the tools used in surgery to make it safer and more reliable when it comes to patient care.
Nine years ago, 3NEWS told you about the then new Da Vinci Xi, a robotic surgical system that helped doctors perform minimally invasive surgeries.
Today, the technology is moving forward, which is allowing doctors at Christus Spohn Shoreline and South to deliver the best care possible.
Dr. Jorge Uribe has been practicing general surgery with the Da Vinci Xi for the last six years. The robotic surgical system is something he says has truly changed the way surgeons help their patients.
“Robotics are taking over as a gold standard in multiple surgical procedures - urology, general surgery, thoracic surgery as well,” Uribe said. “Giving the opportunity for patients to have access to robotic surgery is really important for our community."
With 700 surgeries using the Da Vinci Xi under his belt, Dr. Uribe will now be using the new and improved Da Vinci 5 system after CHRISTUS Health purchased two for the Shoreline and South location.
The new system has over 150 design innovations and ten thousand times the computing power than the Xi.
Perhaps the biggest and newest advancement for the system is the Force Feedback technology that Uribe says contributes to making this robot the first of its kind in our area.
“It's basically what allows the surgeon to feel and have feedback when we touch and manipulate the tissue,” he said. "I think the tactile feedback is important for new surgeons to train to get into robotic surgery because it will give a better sense of what to feel in the abdominal cavity."
Uribe says the new robotic system will allow complex surgeries doctors were not able to achieve in the past to continue.
This in turn will allow patients to be discharged faster, leave with less pain and recover faster.
“I think that's a big advantage in the goal of providing the patients the opportunity to get their procedures done in a minimally invasive approach,” he said.