da Vinci Gynecologic Surgery

da Vinci Procedures da Vinci Hysterectomy Uterine Fibroids

Gynecologic Procedures at ChristianaCare

When medication and non-invasive procedures are unable to relieve symptoms, surgery remains the accepted and most effective treatment for a range of gynecologic conditions.

These include, but are not limited to, cervical and uterine cancer, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, uterine prolapse and menorrhagia or excessive bleeding.

Traditional open gynecologic surgery, using a large incision for access to the uterus and surrounding anatomy, has for many years been the standard approach to many gynecologic procedures. Yet with open surgery can come significant pain, trauma, a long recovery process and threat to surrounding organs and nerves. For women facing gynecologic surgery, the period of pain, discomfort and extended time away from normal daily activities that usually follows traditional surgery can understandably cause significant anxiety.

Less-invasive options are available. Some gynecologic procedures enable surgeons to access the target anatomy using a vaginal approach, which may not require an external incision. But for complex hysterectomies and other gynecologic procedures, robot-assisted surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System may be the most effective, least invasive treatment option. Through tiny, 1-2 cm incisions, surgeons using the da Vinci robot can operate with greater precision and control, minimizing the pain and risk associated with large incisions while increasing the likelihood of a fast recovery and excellent clinical outcomes.

Less-invasive options are available.

da Vinci Hysterectomy

A hysterectomy is a surgery to remove all or part of the uterus. There are many different approaches and reasons why your doctor may suggest this surgery.

If your doctor recommends hysterectomy, you may be a candidate for da Vinci hysterectomy, one of the most effective, least invasive treatment options for a range of uterine conditions. Da Vinci Hysterectomy is performed using the da Vinci Surgical System, which enables surgeons to perform with a high level of precision and control using only a few small incisions.

Learn more about ChristianaCare's Minimally Invasive Surgical Options for Women.

For many patients, da Vinci Hysterectomy can offer numerous potential benefits over traditional approaches to vaginal, laparoscopic or open abdominal hysterectomy, particularly when performing more challenging procedures like radical hysterectomy for gynecologic cancer. Potential benefits include:

Significantly less pain.
Less blood loss.
Fewer complications.
Less scarring.
A shorter hospital stay.
A faster return to normal daily activities.

Moreover, da Vinci provides the surgeon with an outstanding surgical tool for dissection and removal of lymph nodes during cancer operations, as compared to traditional open or minimally invasive approaches.

Da Vinci Hysterectomy also allows your surgeon better visualization of anatomy, which is especially critical when working around delicate and confined structures like the bladder. This means that surgeons have a distinct advantage when performing a complex, radical hysterectomy involving adhesions from prior pelvic surgery or non-localized cancer, or an abdominal hysterectomy.

As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed, as surgery is both patient- and procedure-specific. While radical hysterectomy or abdominal hysterectomy performed using the da Vinci Surgical System are considered safe and effective, these procedures may not be appropriate for every individual. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits.

Uterine Fibroid Treatment

Uterine fibroids, also called uterine tumors, leiomyomata and myomas or myomata, are benign (non-cancerous) tumors occurring in at least one quarter of all women.

They can grow underneath the uterine lining, inside the uterine wall or outside the uterus. Many women don’t feel any symptoms with uterine tumors or fibroids. But for others, these fibroids can cause excessive menstrual bleeding (also called menorrhagia), abnormal periods, uterine bleeding, pain, discomfort, frequent urination and infertility.

Learn more about the causes, symptoms and diagnosis of uterine fibroid.

Treatments include uterine fibroid embolization—which shrinks the tumor—and surgery.

Surgical treatment for uterine tumors most often involves the surgeon removing the entire uterus, via hysterectomy.

While hysterectomy is a proven way to resolve fibroids, it may not be the best surgical treatment for every woman. If, for example, you hope to later become pregnant, you may want to consider alternatives to hysterectomy like myomectomy.

Each year, roughly 65,000 myomectomies are performed in the U.S.

The conventional approach to myomectomy is open surgery, through a large abdominal incision. After cutting around and removing each uterine fibroid, the surgeon must carefully repair the uterine wall to minimize potential uterine bleeding, infection and scarring. Proper repair is also critical to reducing the risk of uterine rupture during future pregnancies.

While myomectomy is also performed laparoscopically, this approach can be challenging for the surgeon, and may compromise results compared to open surgery.

Laparoscopic myomectomies often take longer than open abdominal myomectomies, and up to 28 percent are converted during surgery to an open abdominal incision.

A new category of minimally invasive myomectomy, da Vinci myomectomy, combines the best of open and laparoscopic surgery. With the assistance of the da Vinci Surgical System, surgeons may remove uterine fibroids through small incisions with a high degree of precision and control.