Robotic Surgery: Faster Healing, Better Results

Dr. D. Scott Crouch, Chief of Surgery at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital

As the only hospital in the Metro East with two robotic-assisted surgical systems, HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital continues its commitment to providing the best care and service for patients. The robust robotic surgery program, using the da Vinci® Xi system, is known for its success with gynecology, urology, general surgery and other procedures.

“Adding an additional robot to our surgery suites allows more patients to have the opportunity to experience better results and a faster recovery from their procedure,” says Courtney Sinn, director of surgical services for HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

What This Means for You
The robot provides more control for your surgeon by helping the doctor's hands to be steadier and more precise.

Robotic-assisted surgical systems can help your doctor:

• Make precise, tiny incisions instead of big ones
• Get a clearer view during your surgery
• Move tools very carefully

Why Robotic Surgery is Better for Patients
When you have robotic surgery, you experience these benefits:

• Smaller scars that heal faster
• Less pain after your operation
• You can go home from the hospital sooner
• You need less pain medicine
• You can get back to normal activities quicker

Dr. D Scott Crouch, chief of surgery at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, who has performed nearly 1300 elective and urgent robotic-assisted surgeries, shares, “The da Vinci® platform offers two main advantages - the wristed instruments and high-definition 3D visualization. It puts a lot of control into the surgeon’s hands and gives us more advantages over traditionallaparoscopic surgical techniques.”

“Having multiple da Vinci systems gives our surgical team the flexibility to handle emergency surgeries without disrupting scheduled procedures. If an urgent case comes in, our fully trained, 24/7 on-call team can immediately step in and use the second system,” says Dr. Crouch.

In addition to the two da Vinci® Xi robotic systems, the hospital has robotic technology for:

• Knee replacements - The VELYS robot helps doctors place new knees more precisely, so patients heal faster with smaller scars.
• Lung procedures - The Ion robot helps doctors look inside your lungs and take biopsy samples of from places that are hard to reach without the technology.

Advancements in surgical services are a long-term commitment of HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

Construction is underway on a $50 Million New Surgery Center and Medical Office Building which will expand access to local care for patients and the region. The brand new three story 70,000-square-foot building is expected to open 2027.

It will include:

• Four state-of-the-art operating suites
• Two additional procedure rooms
• Six post-anesthesia care rooms
• Sixteen prep and recovery stations
• Diagnostic imaging, including Open MRI, X-ray and Mammography
• The medical office building features space for physician specialty
  clinics and new providers to serve patients on St. Elizabeth’s campus

To learn more about the robotic-assisted surgeries offered at St. Elizabeth’s
Hospital visit here.