Crouse buys da Vinci SP robot for single-incision robotic surgery

Dr. Po Lam, Crouse Health urologist, poses with the da Vinci SP system. (PHOTO CREDIT: CROUSE HEALTH)

SYRACUSE — Crouse Health announced that it has purchased and is using the da Vinci SP (single port) system.  It gives surgeons robotic-assisted technology designed for deep and narrow access to tissue in the body with “greater precision and enhanced mobility,” Crouse Health said in a news release. The da Vinci SP’s design enables single-port […]

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SYRACUSE — Crouse Health announced that it has purchased and is using the da Vinci SP (single port) system. 

It gives surgeons robotic-assisted technology designed for deep and narrow access to tissue in the body with “greater precision and enhanced mobility,” Crouse Health said in a news release.

The da Vinci SP’s design enables single-port placement and “optimal” internal and external range of motion (e.g., 360-degrees of anatomical access and rotation) through the single SP arm. Surgeons control the fully articulating instruments and the camera on the SP system.

The SP platform allows surgeons to get inside the body in a “very delicate way” to perform minimally invasive surgeries that solve problems ranging from reconstructive to cancer surgery, Crouse said. The health system didn’t disclose the cost of the new da Vinci system.

Crouse Health is currently using the new robotic system for prostatectomy procedures, Dr. Po Lam, Crouse Health urologist, said. Lam has more than 17 years of experience using the da Vinci robotic technology. 

“The ability to enter the body through a single, small incision helps surgeons perform procedures in a less invasive way, helping to reduce trauma and discomfort to the patient,” Lam said in the release. “This advancement in robotic surgery allows for a unique option to prostate removal in patients with previous abdominal surgery. Not only do patients not need to worry about previous scar tissue, the SP approach eliminates the risks of bowel injury.” 

Other patient benefits making for an “all-around improved patient experience” include faster recovery, reduced risk of infection, and shorter hospitalization, Lam added.

Since its inception in 2008, Crouse Health’s robotic-surgery program has grown to become the region’s largest multispecialty robotic-surgery program. It performed more than 1,900 procedures in 2021. With seven surgical robots and 25 surgical specialists supporting the program, specialty areas include general surgery, bariatric, colorectal, GYN oncology, gynecology, thoracic and urology.            

Eric Reinhardt: