Insights

This week, the region's only academic health system announced its plans to acquire new top-of-the-line robotic surgical devices.

The Da Vinci 5 is the latest and greatest in helping UC Health surgeons and operating teams perform better surgeries all over the body. Surgeries can range from head and neck cancer surgeries to gastrological procedures. UC Health already uses Da Vinci surgical systems, but this week announced upgrades as a way to provide the most advanced care for its patients.

By upgrading to Da Vinci 5, UC Health now provides the most advanced robotic surgical care in the Cincinnati medical market.

What’s New

The Da Vinci 5 is comprised of three main components: the patient cart, which holds the camera and the surgical arms that assist a physician with surgery; the surgeon console, where the surgeon sits to operate; and the vision cart, which manages communications between the robotic arms and the surgeon and has a screen to view the surgery in real-time.

Check out UC Health’s Meredith Stutz test out the Da Vinci 5 in the video below!

Da Vinci tells UC Health the benefits of the new Da Vinci 5 centers on better patient outcomes, better autonomy with the surgeon, and better surgical insights through harnessing the power of AI to provide feedback following every case through a digital ecosystem. This feature, similar to an athlete reviewing films after a game, can help surgeons improve their performance and technique and uniquely help those training in an academic teaching environment, such as UC College of Medicine.

What’s Different

One of the main features of the Da Vinci 5 that promotes better patient outcomes is "force feedback." This gives surgeons back their sense of touch to the robotic field. Now, with the Da Vinci 5 upgrades, our surgeons can feel the tension of the tissue during each procedure, which can help deliver gentler and safer surgery. Da Vinci says early data shows that this new approach results in up to  40% percent less force on tissue.

Dustin Silverman, MD, is a Head and Neck Surgical Oncologist with the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. He says the Da Vinci 5 gives a “huge advantage" to our surgeons. 

“Ultimately, for our patients, the Da Vinci 5 allows us to treat these patients more accurately," Dr. Silverman said. "It increases number one, surgeon autonomy allows us force feedback, but it makes it safer. They've shown that the Da Vinci 5 and the upgraded Da Vinci system has very tangibly translated to better and improved patient outcomes. And that's something that our patients can certainly look forward to and benefit from here at the University of Cincinnati.”

The Future

David A. Gerber, MD, Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati, says, "The new platform allows an expansion of robotic surgery for multiple disciplines, making UC Health and the University of Cincinnati the destination for state-of-the-art, technologically advanced healthcare." 

“Whenever you think about robotics, think about the University of Cincinnati," Dr. Silverman said, reflecting on how the upgrades to the Da Vinci 5 allow UC Health to lead the region in robotic-assisted surgeries.

UC Health expects four new Da Vinci 5 systems to arrive on campus on July 28.