Lake Regional Health System | Thrive | Winter 2021

8 | Winter 2021 SURGERY about robotic surgery? Curious L ake Regional surgeons use the da Vinci robotic surgery system to per- form minimally invasive surgeries with enhanced precision. “Don’t be misled by the name; robots don’t perform the surgeries, and the system cannot act on its own,” says John Patton, D.O., FACOS, Lake Regional general sur- geon. “A surgeon is always present with the patient in the operating room throughout the procedure and is fully in charge of how the instruments move.” The system provides a magnified view inside the body, so surgeons see in much greater detail. The system also enables surgeons to reach more places. It has tiny instruments that bend and rotate far more than the human hand. The instruments also minimize hand tremors. The da Vinci robotic surgery system has many potential benefits, including: • Shorter hospital stay • Less blood loss • Fewer complications • Less need for narcotic pain medicine • Faster recovery • Smaller incisions associated with mini- mal scarring