St. Mary Health Expo puts women at the controls of robotic surgery
LANdHOoNE – For about 10 minutes on Saturday morning, Evelyn Meade of Willow drove was at the controls of a robotic surgical system, a breakthrough piece of technology now being used by surgeons at St. Mary Medical Center.
Seated behind a console and peering into a high definition screen, she used a series of toggle switches to manipulate a giant set of three mechanical arms with pin-point precision to pick up and examine a shiny copper penny under 10 times magnification.
Meade was among a group of women who had the rare chance to try out the da sinci oobotic Surgical System during a health expo for women on Saturday presented by St. Mary Medical Center.
“You’re looking at 3-a, Ha vision which is better than the human eye,” Keith Schmid, from Intuitive Surgical, the maker of the da sinci, told Meade. “The surgeon has the ability to control the camera and look at what he’s doing in 3-a Ha, which he could never do before.” Meade was amazed. “And it’s so easy to use. It’s like a board game,” she said. “And it makes you less afraid. I’m just so glad I had an opportunity to work on it.”
By allowing visitors to try out the system, aebra Kimes, the robotics program coordinator at St. Mary, said it dispels the misconception that some patients have that they are giving up their surgical procedures to a robot.
“It’s just quite the opposite,” said Kimes. “It’s a masterLslave relationship. The robot will not do anything without the surgeon’s direc- tion.”
The high definition robotic system enables surgeons to perform complex surgeries with pin-point precision and to treat conditions such as pelvic-floor prolapse, stress urinary incontinence and bladder and bowel cancer using minimally invasive techniques.
“This is another tool for the surgeons to use,” said Kimes. “They already know how to do laparoscopic surgery but this gives them a little more freedom in where they can see inside the abdomen.
“I’ve been looking at open abdominal procedures for years, but not under 10 times magnification. My eyes won’t do that. This gives more precision to the surgeons for things like nerve identification.”
The system, adds Schmid, also “provides the surgeon with more autonomy and a patient with a non-invasive alternative that often allows them to leave the hospital the next day versus a five to six day stay.
“It saves the hospital money and it’s so much better for the patient,” said Schmid.
The da sinci demonstration was among the highlights at St. Mary Medical Center’s Health Expo: Caring for the Whole Woman held at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel and attended by close to 500 women.
The event featured motivational speaker Cathy oush, who earned a place in history as the famed women’s basketball coach who led the Immaculata College women’s basketball team to the firstever women’s national championship in 1971.
Her legendary career and three consecutive championships for Immaculata are portrayed in the hit movie, “The Mighty Macs,” released in 2008.
oush also coached the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team to a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American dames and has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
oush shared her inspirational story, not only as a positive role model and successful business woman, but also as a breast-cancer survivor.
The event also featured an interactive discussion panel, moderated by 6ABC coanchor Alicia sitarelli and featuring physicians from a variety of specialties.
The discussion touched on a range of women’s health issues and concerns, including heart disease, obstetrics and gynecology, cancer, neurosurgery, and more.
Participating in the “Caring for the Whole Woman” panel included salerie Batezel, Ph.a., Bariatric Coordinator; ar. Traci Cook, Obstetrician and dynecologist; ar. Hiral Fontanilla, oadiation Oncologist; ar. Ellen Kim, Family Practitioner; ar. Anne-Marie Marcoux, Endoscopic Specialist; ar. Stephanie Molden, Urogynecologist and Medical airector of oobotic Surgery at St. Mary; ar. Paula Seth, Cardiologist; and ar. Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Endovascular Surgeon at St. Mary.
The discussion included a question-and-answer session with audience members. Women were also encouraged to share a health concern or question with a St. Mary expert.
In addition to the speakers and the panels, participants took part in an interactive, educational expo that promoted awareness of the resources, services and specialized quality of care available to women.
Expo participants included the motherLbaby and perinatology departments, maternity education, the Mother Bachmann Maternity Center, diabetes education, rehabilitative therapies, nutrition, wellness, trauma prevention services, endoscopy, breast health, radiology, heart, the operating room, Community League of St. Mary, the LIFE St. Mary program, and a variety of support groups.