Da Vinci 5: A robotic masterpiece at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center

Dr. Samuel Yelverton, who has performed thousands of surgeries using the da Vinci Surgical System at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, is blunt when he talks about the importance of a hospital being up-to-date with technology.

Yelverton, a board-certified general, bariatric, and reflux surgeon in Lakewood Ranch, said he wouldn't work at a hospital that didn't have an advanced robotic-assisted system.

He knows other surgeons feel the same way. So he said it makes him proud that Universal Health Services, which owns and operates Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, continues to invest in such technology.

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center announced last week that it is expanding its robotic surgery program by adding a da Vinci 5 Surgical System, which was developed by Intuitive Surgical. The da Vinci 5 is the hospital's third such robotic surgery platform.

While the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center declined to reveal the cost of the da Vinci 5 system, online estimates range from $1.8 to $2.5 million. It allows surgeons to sit behind a high-definition, 3D visualization screen while putting his hands into "gloves" that control the movements of the robots' four arms.

It is the hospital's third such system, and the most advanced. The first da Vinci system was introduced to the public in November, 2019 as part of the hospital's expansion. The newest da Vinci purchase has been announced after Universal Health Services opened a $120 million, five-story tower in April that increased available beds from 120 to 180, along with expanding other services.

"Healthcare continues to evolve and our responsibility is to provide healthcare technology innovations that benefit our community," said Jason Madsen, the Chief Executive Office of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, in a release. "By adding the da Vinci 5, we are expanding access to some of the most advanced surgical technology available today, allowing patients to received innovative, minimally invasive care close to family, friends, and the support systems that are so important during recovery."

Photo by Jay Heater

Yelverton said advancements in the da Vinci have made the image crystal clear over past systems, saying that in comparison, the da Vinci 5 makes it feel like you had been looking through "dirty glass" with the previous systems.

The new da Vinci system incorporates more than 150 design innovations that enhance surgical precision, visualization, and operating room efficiency. That includes the high-resolution, 3D imaging.

Yelverton said that even though he isn't actually touching the patient, he can "feel" the pressure needed or being applied during the surgery.

All the systems allow doctors to utilize fewer and smaller incisions, which allow patients to return to their regular lifestyle much quicker than previous surgical methods.

Having the third da Vinci system also will allow more surgeons to have access to performing robotic surgery at the facility. That will help with recruitment.

Dr. Allison Wyman, a urogynecologist, said when she was being recruited to Lakewood Ranch five years ago, she wouldn't have come if Lakewood Ranch Medical Center didn't have the robotics system technology.

"The da Vinci has been groundbreaking for patients who face complex pelvic surgery," Wyman said. "It helps to improve the patients' quality of life. (Previous surgery methods) could stop them from doing the things they love. Before (the robotics systems), I would have to make big incisions on their abdomen. This means less down time."

A urogynecologist is a doctor who performs diagnosis and treatment options and surgery for women suffering from urinary leakage and pelvic floor disorders.

Courtesy image

"Now I make these tiny incisions," Wyman said. "It takes one to two hours and they can leave the same day. When you do a traditional laparoscopic surgery, you have two hands. With the da Vinci, you can use four instruments at one time. You have better visualization. I came take the camera now and go so deep into the pelvis."

Wyman said Lakewood Ranch Medical Center is "putting itself on the map" with purchases such as the da Vinci 5. 

"It is the most advanced system," she said. "They make things intuitive."

She said it does take some time to adjust to the new techniques.

"There definitely is a learning curve," she said. "You have to use a foot clutch, where you tap it with your left foot and it switches (control) of one (robotic) arm to the other. Now I do it without thinking."

Like Yelverton, she said she is proud of the hospital's willingness to upgrade its technology.

"It shows their commitment to the community," she said.