Wednesday’s surgery was a laparoscopic gastric sleeve and robotic hysterectomy combination. Gastric sleeve is a typical bariatric surgery, and Dr. Russ Birdwell was the bariatric surgeon on the case. The combination of the two surgeries into one is a surgery that my mentor actually pioneered 7 years ago. Performing the hysterectomy gives an avenue for the removal of the excised stomach flap via the vagina, minimizing the need for an open surgery. Dr. Birdwell performed the gastric sleeve laparoscopically, which really helped me put the concept of laparoscopy as a whole into perspective regarding da Vinci surgery. Laparoscopic tools are much harder to efficiently maneuver, and the process of cutting and sealing blood vessels took twice as long as it would have robotically. At one point, Dr. Birdwell even paused and sighed, saying “I should have done this robotically” due to the sheer volume of unnecessary time and effort laparoscopy entails. After the gastric sleeve, Dr. Heffernan’s fellow easily performed the simple robotic hysterectomy.
While the surgery I observed didn’t entirely pertain to my study on robotics, it helped me break down the fundamental differences between minimally invasive surgical techniques, which is knowledge that will indefinitely aid me in the future.
