GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)- HSHS St. Vincent Hospital is the first Wisconsin hospital to launch a new state-of-the-art robot to help perform minimally-invasive back and neck surgery.
The ExcelciusGPS was first used in Green Bay earlier this month. The 1 million dollar robot is designed to assist surgeons with complex spinal fusions.
“It’s like having an extra arm and an extra set of eyes” says Prevea Neurosurgeon Dr. Hoon Choi.
The process starts with a 3D image of the spinal fusion patient and with the doctor laying out a simple on a computer monitor.
“You can plan precise trajectories, and you can use the robotic arm to line it up with the trajectory that you planned.”
That plan includes size of screw to be used and precise location.
“It would be like trying to get a seed out of a grapefruit. If you have an exray of where the seed is and you can set up for the arm to move directly over the seed, you can go in one time, without having to make a large cut.”
Dr. Choi says a smaller incision means less blood loss.
“By loosing blood, you have to do a transfusion which is very risky.”
Dr. Choi said it is also more cost effective when it comes to accuracy.
“You use less parts if you know exactly where you are going because it takes just one pass.”
While the technology is new, there could be unforseen technology issues, but Dr. Choi says that does not mean the traditional way can’t still be used.
“If all fails, we can still get the job done with a scissors, stick and a knife.”
Dr. Choi compared that to a GPS system for you car. If it stops working, most people can still get to where they are going, but with the GPS, you can see your exact route and exact destination time before even getting there.
With the machine positioned next to the surgeon in the operating room, the two work together with surgeon operating the instruments and the robot guiding the direction, depth and angle of the surgeon’s hands.
Advanced, robotic surgery systems have been in use at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital since 2007.
