How Does a Robotic Hysterectomy Compare to an Open Hysterectomy?

Your uterus has become more of a liability than an asset and you’re opting for a hysterectomy to improve your health. While this road to better health does involve surgery, the technique that we use can impact your recovery and outcome.

At Advanced Endometriosis Center, Dr. Ulas Bozdogan has been at the forefront of minimally invasive hysterectomies and he was among the first to embrace emerging technologies, namely the da Vinci® surgical system.

Here’s a look at how this robot-assisted surgical system excels over open surgery.

The traditional open approach

Before the introduction of minimally invasive surgical techniques, surgeons required open access to your lower abdomen to perform a hysterectomy. This meant making a large incision across your abdomen — large enough for the surgeons’ hands and instruments to perform the work.

As a result, there was considerable collateral damage to your tissues, such as your abdominal muscles, which required far more time to heal. As well, the large incision led to more blood loss, more time in the hospital, and an increased risk of infection.

A path of lesser resistance

With the advent of minimally invasive surgery, we are now able to perform many gynecologic procedures, including hysterectomies. using a small, lighted camera that we insert through small incisions in your abdomen or, even better, through your vagina. This tiny camera delivers real-time, high definition images of the surgical site that we can see on a large screen.

When we combine this advanced visualization with specialized instruments that translate the movements of our hands in small spaces, we’re able to perform a hysterectomy without creating as much collateral tissue damage as the open approach.

This minimally invasive approach has been so successful that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists determined that, “Minimally invasive approaches to hysterectomy should be performed, whenever feasible, based on their well-documented advantages over abdominal hysterectomy.”

Going a step further with robotic hysterectomy

With our da Vinci surgical system, we’re able to enhance the already successful minimally invasive approach to removing your uterus (and other organs, if necessary).

This system provides the perfect blend of human experience with robotic precision to enhance our surgical capabilities. If you’re thinking that there’s a robot in the operating room performing your procedure, this isn’t true.

Dr. Bozdogan is at a console with a monitor, controlling the instruments the entire time. Using handheld devices, he guides the robotic arms, which translate the movements of his hands with robotic accuracy. As well, the da Vinci arms have a wider range of motion than the human hand and the system features a tremor-filtration technology that helps Dr. Bozdogan to move each instrument with smooth precision.

If you would like to explore whether you’re a candidate for a da Vinci robotic hysterectomy, please contact one of our locations in New York City or Hackensack, New Jersey, to set up an appointment.