Dignity Health’s East Valley hospitals have added a new generation of robotic-assisted surgical equipment that officials say can give surgeons greater precision and feedback while allowing patients to undergo some procedures through smaller incisions.
The systems have been in use for about a month at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and Chandler Regional Medical Center, according to Dr. Aaron Mickelson, chief medical officer at Mercy Gilbert.
The technology can assist surgeons with procedures ranging from appendectomies and gallbladder removal to operations involving gynecology and urology. Surgeons remain in control of the procedure, operating the robotic instruments from a console in the operating room.
Mickelson said Dignity Health had been exploring the acquisition for at least six months before putting the equipment into use.
Robotic-assisted surgery itself is not new to the hospitals. The newly acquired equipment represents a more advanced generation of the technology, Mickelson said, including haptic feedback that allows surgeons to sense such things as pressure and tissue density while manipulating instruments.
“They love it,” Mickelson said of the surgeons using the new systems. “They were a big driver for helping us to push this project along.”
Surgeons control the instruments through finger controls and levers while viewing the surgical area on a large screen. The system provides a detailed view of tissue and lets surgeons track the positioning of instruments even when they are outside their immediate field of view.
The equipment can be used for general surgery procedures such as appendectomies, gallbladder removal, hiatal hernia repairs and bowel surgeries. It also can assist with hysterectomies and other gynecological procedures as well as urological surgeries.
Those procedures can involve small blood vessels, nerves and other delicate structures, making precision particularly important, Mickelson said.
Robotic-assisted surgery generally allows physicians to operate through small incisions rather than the larger incision that may be required in traditional open surgery. Mickelson said reducing the size of those incisions also reduces the physical trauma associated with a procedure.
“Well, you have much smaller incisions, so that's a big factor because you're only putting in instrument ports instead of having to put surgical hands in there,” Mickelson said. “So smaller incisions and basically smaller trauma to the body for procedures.”
Dignity Health says potential patient benefits from minimally invasive robotic-assisted procedures include less pain and faster recovery. Mickelson said the hospitals determine when to use robotic assistance based on evidence, safety profiles and standards of care for particular surgical specialties.
The systems already are seeing considerable use. Mickelson said multiple procedures are being performed with them each day.
He observed the first surgery using the new equipment at Mercy Gilbert and said the physician performing that operation had six cases scheduled with the system that day.
Dignity Health East Valley President Mario Garner said in the health system’s announcement that the investment is intended to give East Valley patients access to advanced surgical technology without having to leave the area.
“Our patients deserve access to leading-edge treatment options close to home, and this technology helps our surgeons perform advanced procedures while supporting the best possible experience for those we serve,” Garner said.
Dual operating consoles allow the surgical equipment to be used in training as well as in surgery.
Courtesty Dignity Health
The equipment also will have a role beyond patient care.
Each system has two operating consoles, allowing an attending surgeon and a resident to work with the technology at the same time. The setup will be used in Dignity Health’s graduate medical education program with Creighton University.
A resident can operate the equipment while the attending physician monitors the procedure and can take control when necessary. Both receive the same feedback from the system, giving residents hands-on experience with the technology.
Mickelson said that educational component makes the investment one in current patients and the physicians who will care for future ones.
“If my mom or dad were here getting surgery, this is how I would want that approached,” Mickelson said. “And so taking the best care of our community is what we do.”
Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him on X at @sp_blodgett.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
Dignity Health,
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center,
Chandler Regional Medical Center,
robotic surgery,
robotic-assisted surgery,
minimally invasive surgery,
Aaron Mickelson,
Mario Garner,
Creighton University,
East Valley health care
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here