Mercy’s Dr. Dwight Im First in the World to Use Single-Site Wristed Needle Driver Robotic Surgery for Benign Hysterectomy
November 24, 2014
A new Food and Drug Administration-approved device is helping surgeons perform benign hysterectomies with better precision.
The device is called the Single-Site Wristed Needle Driver. It's part of the Da Vinci Robotic System in which the surgeon works from a console unit and manipulates the robotic-like hands through a single one-inch incision.
The tips of the device move flexibly like wrists. According to Dr. Dwight Im, Director of The Gynecologic Oncology Center at Mercy, that's good for the patient and the surgeon.
"For the first time ever, you can move as if moving your wrists, so this is really a game-changer for most gynecologic surgeons," Dr. Im said. "Instead of taking an hour to close the vagina, now you can spend 10 minutes closing the vagina. It's better for the patient because the amount of time you spend in the operating room is less."
Most women who have benign conditions that require a hysterectomy are candidates for the minimally invasive procedure. However, women should still check with their doctors first.
View Dr. Im’s interview regarding this advance in robotic surgery for women’s health.
About Mercy
Founded in 1874 in downtown Baltimore by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Medical Center is a 183-licensed bed acute care university-affiliated teaching hospital. Mercy has been recognized as a top Maryland hospital by U.S. News & World Report; a Top 100 hospital for Women’s Health & Orthopedics by Healthgrades; is currently A-rated for Hospital Safety (Leapfrog Group), and is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet Hospital. Mercy Medical Center is part of Mercy Health Services (MHS), the parent of Mercy’s primary care and specialty care physician enterprise, known as Mercy Personal Physicians, which employs more than 200 providers with locations in Baltimore, Lutherville, Overlea, Glen Burnie, Columbia and Reisterstown. For more information about Mercy, visit www.mdmercy.com, MDMercyMedia on Facebook, Twitter, or call 1-800-MD-Mercy.
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