Henry Ford Hospital creates operating room of the future

Surgical teams at Henry Ford Hospital's Vattikuti Urology Institute are now performing robot-assisted prostatectomy using revolutionary three-dimensional (3D) technology in a newly constructed operating room (OR).

Aided by two 60-inch by 80-inch flat projection screens, advanced lighting, and a data monitoring and intercom system, the entire surgical team now works in 3D wearing special polarized glasses. Up until the development of the new OR, the surgeon at the console was the only member of the team with the 3D view.

The operating room is equipped with Intuitive Surgical Inc.'s da Vinci computer-enhanced, minimally invasive surgical system. Using a tiny camera at the end of one laparoscope, the surgeon can operate miniaturized instruments at the end of other laparoscopes, all from a remote console with a 3D view

"This operating room is going to change the way operations are done," says Mani Menon, MD, director of Henry Ford's Vattikuti Urology Institute. "I think for precision work, when tissue handling is very important, when a millimeter makes a difference, 3D brings us that benefit. Surgery is something that should be delicate and precise. It should be more like painting than construction work. And this OR helps you paint your way through an operation."

With this procedure, the patient's pain, blood loss, risk of incontinence, impotence and recovery time in the hospital and at home are significantly reduced. With traditional radical prostatectomy, people are usually in the hospital for between two and three days. With robotic prostatectomy, most patients are discharged one day after surgery.

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