Cape Fear Valley Health Now Performing Robotic Surgery

FAYETTEVILLE – Cape Fear Valley Health recently set a milestone, performing the area’s first robotically assisted surgery.

Christian deBeck, M.D., Director of Medical Robotics, used the health system’s new da Vinci© Surgical System robot to perform a radical prostatectomy on a prostate cancer patient. The minimally invasive technique benefits patients through smaller incisions, less pain, faster healing and less infection risk.

The FDA approved the da Vinci system in 2006 for general laparoscopic procedures. It has since been successfully used in complex surgeries, ranging from bowel resections and hysterectomies to heart tissue ablation and mitral valve repair.

Like its historical namesake, the da Vinci robot uses unparalleled anatomical accuracy and innovation. Surgeons using the robot sit at a console equipped with a three-dimensional viewer that shows high-definition footage inside the patient’s body.

The surgeon’s hand movements are mimicked by the da Vinci’s pencil-sized probes, which are inserted into the patient through tiny incisions. The free-standing robot can even compensate for natural hand tremors, allowing for finer accuracy while operating.

Elizabeth Pope, Office Manager for Cape Fear Valley Urology, says prostate cancer patients operated on with the da Vinci system are typically discharged within 24 hours following surgery.

Dr. deBeck performed the health system’s first da Vinci surgery in May and has since performed several more using the system. Dr. Ravinder Annamaneni, a general surgeon, and Drs. Paul Sparzak and Arnold Barefoot, both obstetric/gynecologist surgeons, have also been credentialed to use the da Vinci© Surgical System.