With the da Vinci surgery system, surgeons operate through a few small incisions. The da Vinci system features a magnified 3D high-definition vision system and tiny, instruments that bend and rotate at greater angles than the human wrist, making its movements very precise.

Tami Shirey had to remind herself she’d just had surgery.

The property manager from McLouth had a hysterectomy Oct. 29 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and the surgeon used the da Vinci surgical system, essentially a robot that assists in surgery.

Procedures that utilize the da Vinci system typically have quicker recoveries than traditional methods, and Shirey, 53, had to back off from her regular activities, even though she was pain-free and felt great, she said.

The surgery was on a Wednesday, she said, and “I would say the first of the following week, I was up and around, feeling wonderful. I even stopped taking the pain medication after two days. There was no need for it.”

Tiffinie Mercado, the surgeon who performed Shirey’s procedure with the da Vinci system, said a reduction in post-surgery pain is one remarkable benefit of the robotic assisted method. The machine’s arms bend and rotate at greater degrees than a human wrist, which makes its movements more precise and takes pressure off the patient’s body.

“The thing I see improved with the robot is actually pain — the pain is less,” Mercado said. “The robot arms move way up and take all that torque off the patient.”

The robotic-assist surgery is still the same surgery as an “open” or traditional procedure, Mercado said. But the robotic procedure uses small incisions to open “ports” in the body.

“We dock the instruments in the robot structure, then move to the console to look through the console to the video of the patient and my hands as they move the instruments in the patient.”

Mercado said the surgery system has built-in safety measures to protect patients, but all in all the experience is excellent for the surgeon as well as the patient, as her visualization improves when using the system. “I can bring the camera close. I can see things robotically that I can’t see (in) open (surgery).”

Other benefits for patients include not having a catheter and not having a pain pump for medication. Surgery recipients can usually return to a regular diet more quickly and can sometimes go home the same day, or at latest the next morning.

Mercado said the surgery is not for all patients. At LMH, da Vinci is used mostly for “benign gyn” — non-cancerous gynecological procedures, mostly hysterectomies, Mercado said. But the system is also used in other general surgeries such as myomectomy, which removes benign fibroids in the uterus, and pelvic floor prolapse surgery.

Karen Shumate, chief operating officer at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, said the hospital has been committed to keeping up with the latest in techniques and technology, both for patient safety and for luring the best surgeons.

“We felt like the da Vinci was something that was necessary and cutting edge, because that’s where a lot of specific surgery procedures were going, and we felt like to keep up with the cutting edge technology that was something we needed to invest in,” Shumate said. “It is state of the art for minimally invasive surgeries. Most hospitals our size either have the system or are considering purchase. It’s just becoming very commonplace.”

Shumate said the physicians that are coming out of school and residencies are often trained in da Vinci technology, and they want to use it. “It has become a recruiting piece of information that they want to know: ‘Am I going to be able to utilize the training that I have?'” Shumate said.