Traditional surgery can create a major disruption in your lifestyle and require a lengthy recovery time.  However, new medical technology may change all that if you’re a candidate for robotic surgery.

Though it may sound like something impersonal and futuristic, the surgical robot is actually user-friendly surgical equipment that lets your surgeon see more precisely and operate more accurately than ever before.

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This is what a surgical robot might look like when your surgeon is at the controls.

The surgeon sees a highly magnified 3D image of the body’s interior.  While the surgeon makes the exact motions of the operation using the robotic controls, his movements are matched by precise movements of tiny instruments placed through small incisions that are only 1 to 2 centimeters in length…about the size of a dime.  These more precise, specialized movements give the surgeon greater control.

To you, as a patient, robotic surgery means you can still have major surgery but with only minimal disruption.  It also means there may be many other benefits.

Depending on the type of surgery you need, you may experience:

• Less blood loss during surgery
• Significantly less surgical pain
• Shorter recovery time
• Faster return to normal daily activities
• Less scarring
• Better clinical outcomes in many cases

Not all surgical procedures or patients are candidates for robotic surgery.  Here are procedures often performed robotically at North Kansas City Hospital:

• Adrenalectomy (removes noncancerous/cancerous tumors of the adrenal gland)
• Hysterectomy (partial or total - removes the uterus and/or cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes contained in the female reproductive system)
• Laparoscopy (identifies conditions within the abdomen including endometriosis)
• Myomectomy (removes noncancerous fibroid tumors in the uterus)
• Nephrectomy (partial or total - removes the kidney)
• Nephroureterectomy (removes the kidney and ureter)
• Prostatectomy (removes the prostate contained in the male reproductive system)
• Pyeloplasty (clears an obstruction from a kidney to the bladder)
• Renal Cyst Decortication (removes noncancerous/cancerous fluid-filled sacs in the kidney)

Robotic surgery may not be appropriate for every individual and individual results may vary. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as the risks and benefits.