Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) is a common general surgery in the United States, with about 600,000 people undergoing the procedure every year — usually because of gallstones or gallstone-related complications.
If you’ve ever had gallstones, or know someone who has, you know how painful they can be. Removing your gallbladder, the organ that stores excess digestive bile, can relieve your symptoms without impacting your digestion. Fortunately, cutting-edge robotic techniques make this common surgery less painful and easier to recover from than ever before.
However, not all surgical centers and hospitals have doctors trained in this new type of surgery. Board-certified and fellowship-trained surgeon Michael Sutker, MD, has extensive experience using the da Vinci® robot-assisted surgery system to perform gallbladder removal and other procedures. He also serves as the medical director of the robotic surgery program at Medical City Dallas Hospital.
Here, Dr. Sutker shares why robotic surgery is transforming gallbladder removal procedures.
The term robotic surgery may conjure up images from science fiction films. However, robotic surgery, which is a type of laparoscopic surgery, is actually performed by a fully trained and highly skilled surgeon.
To start, Dr. Sutker makes a few small incisions that allow him to insert a tiny camera and specialized instruments. He visualizes your organs from a console that provides him a three-dimensional, high-definition view of your abdomen and gallbladder.
Dr. Sutker uses the da Vinci robotic system, which translates his surgical movements into smaller, more precise movements. It uses tiny instruments with far more rotational mobility than the human wrist. This technology is called human-to-machine synchronization, meaning the “robot’s arms” are extensions of Dr. Sutker’s arms, but operate with more precision and dexterity than a human is capable of.
In traditional open surgery, your surgeon makes a long incision to gain access to your gallbladder. While this type of surgery is safe, laparoscopic techniques are now used in more than 90% of gallbladder removal surgeries because of its multiple advantages, including:
Experience and equipment availability are key factors in whether your surgeon chooses open surgery, robotic surgery, or laparoscopic surgery without robotics. Dr. Sutker has performed over 1,200 surgeries using the da Vinci robot-assisted surgery system.
If you need gallbladder surgery and want to experience the benefits of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, we can help. Call the office of Michael Sutker, MD, today, or book an appointment online at your convenience.
