Kadlec Regional Medical installs second da Vinci robot, seeks to double surgery capacity

He's a Colorectal Surgeon who often works with cancer patients. 

As Kadlec Regional Medical Center unveiled their second da Vinci Robot, he went over the benefits of having the technology.

"You know you shake a little bit, I don't shake, the robotic eliminates all of this, it has 10 times magnification, and also it gets you that wrist movement," he said. 

The robot is also used for urology, gynecology and some general surgeries. 

It usually means a smaller incision site which translates to a quicker recovery. 

Until this week, Kadlec only had one of these robots. 

"The community was growing, and specialties have started to even flood in more and more to Kadlec, so we have a lot of doctors that use it, so it became like a bottleneck," Dr. Ailabouni said.

In the past 12 months, hospital employees said surgeons have utilized the robot 750 times. 

This second system will double their capacity and mean shorter wait times for patients who need surgery. 

"We are serving as much people as we can, we - our goal is to keep patients closer to home, and we don't need to send them outside to get the care that they need," he said.

Surgery residents and doctors are able to test out their skills on the machine with a series of tests.

Although he already knew how to perform the surgeries without da Vinci, after about 100 uses of the robot, Dr. Ailabouni said something extraordinary happened. 

"You do not have the tactile sense, so you do not feel the tissue - once you become proficient on the robot, your brain interprets the tissue feelings as movements because you already know how to do the surgery in the open technique and the laparoscopic so it's part of you," he described. 

Cancer is something this doctor faces on a regular basis. He's hoping this second robot can help more patients return to normalcy.

"What I enjoy is the ability for me to help this patient go back to their life. It's very scary to get the diagnosis of cancer, and I see it every day. I can sympathize with the patient, I see what they're going through - working together to get this patient back and telling them 'You are cured,' there's - nothing can beat that."

The funds to purchase the robot were made possible by the Kadlec Foundation, the Tri-Cities Cancer Foundation and community donations. In total, $2 million was raised for the robot's purchase. 

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