Robotic Weight Loss Surgery
Dr. Jason Payne has been performing robotic surgery for a little over 5 years now and more specifically robotic bariatric surgery for over two years. He completed the first fully robotic sleeve gastrectomy in the state of Mississippi in summer 2015. In August of 2016, Dr. Payne performed the first fully robotic sleeve gastrectomy in the state on the new Xi system.
What are the advantages of robotic-assisted surgery?
“So with the robotic system, we’ve got a few advantages. Number one, I can get away with fewer port sites than how we do it traditionally laparoscopically, nearly one or two fewer port sites. So fewer incisions, less pain. The technology of the robotic system itself also helps aid in less pain and trauma to the abdominal wall, all this helping to lead to a quicker recovery time for the patient.
We also get the benefit of 3-D visualization with the robotic system which we don’t have laparoscopic surgery. We lost that ability, it’s only 2-D perspective versus 3-D once we’re using the robotic system, so you can see the tissues much better as well.
And also the instruments are able to reach further than our traditional laparoscopic instruments so we can get into areas that we typically have a much harder time getting to with our straight stick instruments for laparoscopy.
There is also a technology inherent to the robotic stapling device that is more accurate and reproducible than traditional staplers, which consequently cuts down on human error.”
Which patients are eligible for robotic-assisted bariatric surgery?
“Any patient that is a candidate for bariatric surgery is also potentially a candidate for robotic bariatric surgery.”
What is it like learning to perform surgery using the da Vinci Xi Surgical System?
“It was extremely weird. The controls are not like anything else I’ve ever experienced. People always try to equate it to playing a video game. It is nothing like playing a video game. You don’t have a little control pad. It is your full body. Using your fingers, using your wrists, using your elbows. It’s almost as if you’re in there operating doing an open procedure, only you’ve got things connected to your fingers that are actually controlling the machine. So it’s a steep learning curve.”
What is the benefit of the expansion of our robotic surgery program to Ocean Springs Hospital?
“Prior to August 2017, we only had a robotic system in Pascagoula, so offering that now in Ocean Springs, we’ve done several things. We’re able to offload some of the pressure that’s applied in Pascagoula in regards to scheduling, not having time and access to the robotic systems. Now we’re able to more easily access the robot here in Ocean Springs and offer services here that we weren’t previously able to offer except in the Pascagoula area.”
