Delfino Estevan Lorenzo, MD, ARC General Surgeon discusses the advantages of using the da Vinci® Surgical System for surgeries of the abdomen. In this video, Dr. Lorenzo addresses many issues, including what type of surgeries are indicated for robotic surgery, why this type of surgery can benefit the patients, and even how the "robot" works.
Watch Dr. Lorenzo's video here, or read what he has to say below:
Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery with Dr. Lorenzo
My first inspiration and exposure to surgery was my dad. Growing up here in Cedar Park, I had the chance to see what robotic surgery can do for a patient. So that drove me to become a general surgeon and develop my robotic surgery surgical skills.
Robotic surgery is utilized for most intra-abdominal surgeries. Where we would otherwise make a large incision in the abdomen that would take time to heal, we instead make small incisions about the size of the end of my index finger.
We are able to accomplish routine as well as complex surgeries through those incisions. The types of ailments that robotic surgery can treat that we as general surgeons address are anything in the abdomen:
- gallbladders,
- appendix, and
- hernias, whether it's in the belly button or in the groin.
We also address more complex surgeries such as:
- colon cancer,
- colon diseases, and other things like
- weight loss surgery.
We're able to accomplish bigger surgeries through small incisions which allows us to get people in and out of the hospital faster and with less pain. Patients are getting back to activities, work, and everything faster than with a traditional open approach.
In robotic surgery, the instruments are held by the "robot" or the machine. This machine is not doing anything on its own, it's only responding to commands that are given from the surgeon at the console. There are two parts to the robotic surgery; you've got the machine that's holding and translating our instructions into the instruments and then we are at a console that's in the same room and usually just a few feet away controlling the robot or the machine with both hand and foot controls.
If you feel like you have any abdominal pains or problems that would require surgery, I'm more than happy to evaluate you either coming into my clinic or having your primary care place a referral to see me.
Make an appointment today
If you would like to make an appointment with Dr. Lorenzo, you can do so by calling ARC South 1st Specialty and Pediatrics at 512-443-1311 or ARC Southwest at 512-282-8967. You can also make on appointment make an appointment online or through your MyChart account.