A surgeon at a Los Angeles area hospital will operate on a patient Friday using advanced robotic technology that allows doctors to virtually “feel” internal tissue.
The patient at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance is among the first people in Southern California to undergo the operation with the advanced surgical system.
The Da Vinci 5 robotic system is designed to improve precision and reduce tissue pressure by utilizing “force feedback technology.” The Torrance hospital is the first hospital in the greater Los Angeles area to acquire the technology, officials said.
“This is the most advanced robotic machine,” said Dr. James Camel, the hospital’s chief of surgery and chairman of the robotics program. “It improves precision and accuracy and has the first-of-its-kind force feedback technology that allows the surgeon to actually feel like we’re touching the tissues, like we’re actually inside.”
The system’s lighter touch can minimize bleeding and promote quicker healing, according to Camel, who has performed nearly 1,500 robotic procedures over the past decade.
Robotic surgery allows a surgeon to insert tools through a small incision while being guided in real-time by computer images. The technology is used for various procedures, including general, urological, gynecological, cardiac, colorectal and thoracic surgeries.
“It’s like having miniature hands in the body so you can go places that are very difficult to reach without a big incision,” Camel said. “Using a small incision, less than a centimeter, you’re not cutting through muscle.”
The small incisions contribute to quicker healing times, with many patients able to return home the same day or at least spending less time in the hospital than with alternative treatments.
The system also allows for virtual consultations and surgical guidance among physicians, officials said.
Providence did not say what type of surgery would be performed with the revolutionary tech.