3 Key Takeaways:
- Robotic surgery offers a wide field of view, miniaturized hand movements, and precise suturing with less bleeding, resulting in quicker recovery for the patient.
- Surgeons must understand the narrowed field of focus and limit hand movements to that field in order to avoid potential patient harm.
- Robotic surgery is constantly evolving and is ushering in a future where surgeries are less invasive, more precise, and associated with faster recovery times.
Step into the world of Urologist Dr. David DiPiazza, a board-certified urologist and urogynecologist based in New Port Richey, FL. As a practitioner with Advanced Urology Institute, the largest urology practice in Florida, he treats both male and female patients. DiPiazza’s credentials speak for themselves, but it’s his dedication to the field of robotic surgery that sets him apart in his profession.
The Art and Science of Robotic Surgery
Dr. David DiPiazza believes that “doing robotic surgery seems easier than an open surgery.” He points out that there’s less bleeding in robotic surgery due to the presence of gas in the belly, referred to as pneumoperitoneum. This gas offers compression, which reduces bleeding during surgery.
Moreover, he finds that the enlarged view and miniaturized hand movements available through the robot provide a more precise action, including suturing and tying. “Everything’s much bigger and magnified. Your hands are smaller too now, so you can do much more precise action”, DiPiazza explains. These technological advances allow for superior surgical precision.
The Patient’s Perspective: Quick Recovery
Beyond the technicalities, the most meaningful advantage of robotic surgery comes down to patient outcomes. According to Dr. DiPiazza, “the patients recover much faster.” This benefit, no doubt, contributes to the growing demand for robotic surgery, offering patients a quicker, less painful path to recovery.
Navigating the Robotic Landscape
While touting the benefits of robotic surgery, Dr. DiPiazza also cautions surgeons about the potential for error. He urges them to understand the narrowed field of focus offered by the robotic lens and to limit hand movements to that field. As he puts it, “You don’t want to move your hands off outside your field of view because you don’t have any tactile sensation.” The lack of this sensation could potentially result in patient harm.
The Future of Surgery
Robotic Surgery is a cutting-edge technology that is constantly evolving. It provides not only a wider field of view but a new perspective on surgical procedures. Imagine the precision of a video game, coupled with the delicate finesse required in surgery. As Dr. DiPiazza explains, “Your normal peripheral vision is much larger than what your field of view is when you’re looking through the binoculars. Think of it like looking through a microscope.”
Dr. David DiPiazza and his team at Advanced Urology Institute are pioneering this revolution in medical science, ushering in a future where surgeries are less invasive, more precise, and associated with faster recovery times. This is the future of medical practice, and it’s already here in New Port Richey, FL. Choose excellence, choose precision, choose Dr. David DiPiazza and Advanced Urology Institute for your urological needs.
References:
- “Benefits of Robotic Surgery | UC Health.” https://www.uchealth.com/services/robotic-surgery/patient-information/benefits/.
- “Tactile Perception Technologies and Their Applications in Minimally ….” 23 Dec. 2020, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.611596.
- “Robotic surgery precision, recovery – Mayo Clinic Health System.” 21 Dec. 2022, https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/robotic-surgery-precision-and-recovery.
Transcription:
Hello, my name is Dr. David DiPiazza. I’m a urologist with Advanced Urology Institute. I am board certified in urology and I’m also board certified in urogynecology. So I take care of both male and female patients. Oh, it’s actually, first off, it’s, it’s to me now doing robotic surgery seems easier than an open surgery, okay? The reason is there’s less bleeding because you have something called pneumoperitoneum. You have this gas in the belly, which gives you a bit of compression.
Everything is so brought down to a scale, like if you’re standing over the patient, looking down at them, everything seems so much smaller. When you’re here, everything’s much bigger and magnified. Your hands are smaller too now, so you can do much more precise action, including suturing and tying and doing, to me, that seems easier now because I’ve been doing so much of it. And the patients recover much faster.
Now one of the issues with robotic surgery that gets people in trouble is they’re not familiar with the laparoscopic point of view and they can get in trouble because their field of focus is very small. You need to understand you have to change your field of focus and your field of view around so you don’t get in trouble.
You don’t want to move your hands off outside your field of view because you don’t have any tactile sensation. You can actually do something to damage to the patient by not understanding where you’re putting your hands. It does, but the field of view is like, if you think of a video game where you’re TV size, you only have a certain range.
Your normal peripheral vision is much larger than what your field of view is when you’re looking through the binoculars. Think of it like looking through a microscope. So you actually have to make sure you keep your movements restricted in that side of field of view.
