About the OHSU Comprehensive Robotic Surgery Program
The OHSU Comprehensive Robotics Program began in 2006 and has many of the Pacific Northwest’s most experienced robotic surgeons. Robotics offer surgeons the ability to perform complex, minimally invasive procedures with greater precision - helping you recover faster.
What is Robotic Surgery?
In robotic surgery, the surgeon sits at a console near the operating table and uses hand controls to manipulate the four robotic arms of the da Vinci surgical system. Three arms hold tiny surgical tools and one holds a camera. The system magnifies the camera’s images in high definition and projects them on a 3-D screen, allowing the surgeon to see clearly inside the body.
The robotic arms can rotate 720 degrees, giving your surgeon greater flexibility than human hands. Because the robotic instruments are very small, each surgical incision can be as small as one centimeter (1 cm) and some surgeries can be performed entirely through a natural opening (e.g. the mouth).
Benefits of Robotic Surgery for Patients
Robotic surgery has many benefits for patients. They include:
- Smaller incisions and sometimes no incisions
- Less invasive
- Less pain after surgery
- Fewer complications
- Shorter hospital stay
- Faster recovery and earlier return to normal activities
OHSU is a Leader in Robotic Surgery
At OHSU, we have one of the largest robotic surgery programs on the West Coast. Many health centers offer robotic surgery for prostate cancer, but we use the technology to treat many other conditions. The OHSU Comprehensive Robotics Program treats:
- Prostate, bladder and kidney cancer
- Uterine and cervical
- Women’s health conditions (pelvic prolapse, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids and other disorders requiring hysterectomy)
- Urinary tract reconstruction (pyeloplasty and other procedures, including pediatric urology)
- Throat Cancer (tonsil, base of tongue)
- Heart conditions (valve and coronary artery disease)
The specialists at OHSU Doernbecher also perform urologic robotiic surgery in children. Robotic surgery especially benefits older children and teens. The shorter, more comfortable recovery lets them get back to school and other activities more quickly than traditional surgery.
