Da Vinci-assisted surgeries hit landmark

PANAMA CITY, Mar 08, 2012 (The News Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Seagrove resident Barbara Wharton was scheduled for a hysterectomy, and Wednesday morning she became a patient of statistical importance for a local hospital.

Gulf Coast Medical Center has been using two da Vinci Si robotic assisted surgical systems since 2009. Wharton was patient number 1,000 to have an operation using the minimally invasive robotic tool in their facility.

"It's great; I actually feel a lot better right now than before the surgery," said the 44-year-old Wharton. "I just thought I was going through menopause early, but I had a lot of pain and I really needed surgery." She was treated for endometriosis, a disorder where the cells from the lining of a woman's womb grows into other areas of the body, leading to pain, irregular bleeding and difficulty in getting pregnant. Wharton went into surgery Wednesday morning and around lunchtime she was released to an outpatient center to rest in her own bed.

"It's going to be great to go home," she said. "I've never spent a day in the hospital, and I don't want to start now." Wharton had a partial hysterectomy and a cyst the size of a grapefruit removed using the da Vinci robot. Dr. Justo Maqueira Jr., ob/gyn, performed the surgery.

"I trust Dr. Maqueira," Wharton said. "I met him a week ago and he did an ultrasound and found the cyst the size of a grapefruit." The da Vinci System allows surgeons to use micro-instruments while giving them a full range of hand motions. The doctor sits in a chair and looks into a 3D viewer. Hand motions made using the machines controls are translated precisely to the machine standing a few feet away over the patient. The hospital has a team of several physicians trained to use the da Vinci robot for general, gynecological, thoracic and pediatric surgery.

Following the procedure, Wharton was recovering in a chair and had little pain or discomfort. She said the worst part about the procedure was the preparation more so than the actual surgery or recovery. Wharton will not be allowed to lift anything other than 10 pounds or do any strenuous exercise for the next six weeks.

Maqueria indicated one of the problems with using the da Vinci for surgery is that patients feel better soon after their procedures and want to resume normal activities instead of resting through their recovery period.

Learn more Dr. Maqueira will hold a lecture March 21 focusing on the use of da Vinci robotic surgery for gynecological diseases. The lecture will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Shaddai Shrine Center, located at 1101 W. 19th Street.

___ (c)2012 The News Herald (Panama City, Fla.) Visit The News Herald (Panama City, Fla.) at www.newsherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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