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NCA NEWSFAX
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FOR YOUR INFORMATION
08/14/2011
Idaho State Journal, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011 – by John O’Connell (2 pages)
Meet the robot
PMC surgical device to aid in operations
Dr. Bjorn Sauerwein is quick to note that the robot he lobbied so vigorously to bring to the local Portneuf
Medical Center isn’t the walking and talking variety. Regardless, Sauerwein lavishes superlatives ad infinitum on
his new tool.
The PMC urologist received the da Vinci surgical robot on Aug. 5, and he hopes to have it online for
patients by the end of September. PMC plans an open
house during which the public can come to “meet the
robot” and have refreshments.
Dr. Bjorn Sauerwein discusses the new surgical robot in an
operating room at the Portneuf Medical Center last Friday in
Pocatello.
Though the da Vinci isn’t as flashy or personable as
Robby the Robot from the TV series “Lost in Space” or
Johnny Five, the living android from the movie “Short
Circuit,” Sauerwein is certain the high-tech tool will
dramatically reduce recovery times for PMC patients and
will significantly reduce the risk of impotency as a side effect for men undergoing prostatectomies. PMC officials
said the cost of the unit was about $1.7 million.
“I’ve seen these machines in action, especially in North Carolina where I did my fellowship, and I’ve seen
the difference. I’ve seen how fast people can get up (after surgery with a robot),” Sauerwein said.
The robot works as an extension of Sauerwein’s hands, enabling him to perform minimally invasive
surgery with high precision and smoother movements. Its control unit has a viewing area where the doctor sees a
patient’s insides in virtual reality and two “joysticks” that control its arms. Two of the arms are fitted with tiny
graspers, suturing needles and cutters.
The robot will also have applications for gynecology and cardiothoracic surgery. Sauerwein anticipates it
will be utilized in about 220 surgeries per year.
Dr. Jacob DeLaRosa, chief of cardiac surgery at PMC, noted the robot will enable him to perform cardiac
surgery through “key-hole incisions. I think it’s important for the people of Idaho that we have to stay current,”
DeLaRosa said.
PMC bought the most modern version of the da Vinci, which includes a third arm that allows a surgeon to
be his own assistant — it holds internal organs that aren’t being worked on out of the way during surgery.
Robot 1
“Within 20 years, I think open surgery will be a thing of the past,” Sauerwein said, adding it will likely be
reserved only for field treatment where fancy equipment isn’t available or emergencies.
Rather than a large cut, like open surgery requires, the robot makes a few tiny incisions, about a twentieth
the size of a standard surgical cut. Sauerwein said the incisions feel like a bee sting.
“I do a better job with the robot than open surgery, and the reason is you can see so much better. I’ve heard
other (doctors) say the same thing,” Sauerwein said.
Sauerwein has left town with some of patients to perform surgeries where robots are available. The closest
robot to Pocatello is currently at Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls.
Steph Armstrong, PMC physician liaison, explained the addition of the robot is a key component of the
hospital’s plans to expand its urology program. Currently, Sauerwein is the only urologist on staff at PMC, as well
as the only staff member cleared to use the robot.
Dr. Alberto Corica, a urologist from Tampa, Fla., will be joining the PMC staff in October and is trained in
robot surgery. “That was a driving force to get the robot,” Armstrong said.
For gynecologic surgery, Dr. Kim Cox will finish robot training at the end of this month, and Dr. Joel
Carlson will start training soon.
DeLaRosa and Dr. Julio Vasquez, also a cardiothoracic surgeon, have some experience with surgical
robots, as well, and will utilize the new robot at PMC.
Sauerwein said robots help patients avoid prolonged pain and heal much faster. For a standard
prostatectomy involving open surgery, he said a typical recovery time is two to three days in a hospital bed with
intravenous narcotics and oral pain medication.
With a robot, he finds patients are good to go home the next morning after a good breakfast and a few
doses of oral medication.
Due to surgical improvements made possible by robots, Sauerwein said there’s been a national shift among
patients with prostate cancer toward surgery — by far the most effective treatment — and away from other
remedies.
Robot 2