Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in the U.S.: the disease strikes more than 140,000 people each year, killing about 60,000. While that may sound like bad news, there’s good news for colon cancer sufferers too. First, routine screening exams help provide early detection and prevention of colorectal cancers. Second, if diagnosed early, the cancer is treatable and potentially curable. Finally, many patients are candidates for treatment via a new, minimally invasive robotic surgery technique: the da Vinci® Surgical System.
While the primary treatment for colorectal cancers is surgery, da Vinci procedures offer a minimally invasive, highly effective alternative to traditional open surgery. Traditional methods generally require substantial abdominal incisions leading to a lengthy healing and recovery process. In contrast, the state-of-the-art robotic technology employed by da Vinci Surgery allows the surgeon to operate with greater precision, dexterity, and control than traditional surgical procedures, while only needing to make very small incisions (1-2 centimeters—about the size of a dime).
Using the da Vinci system, surgeons make these small incisions into which miniature surgical instruments and a 3D/HD camera are inserted. The surgeon then views a magnified, high-resolution image of the surgical site on a console. The robotic technology translates the surgeon’s hand movements into precise scaled motions of the da Vinci instruments to perform accurate surgical maneuvers. Your doctor remains in control, but the actual surgery is performed on a miniature scale.
The da Vinci system has proven very successful to treat multiple colorectal conditions, including colon cancer, rectal cancer, diverticulitis, and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).
In addition to the increased surgical precision and reduced incision size, da Vinci Surgery has many other potential benefits over both open surgery and laparoscopy. Many patients can expect improved clinical outcomes for cancer control with da Vinci. Other benefits experienced by most da Vinci patients include quicker return to normal bowel function and diet, less risk of infection at the surgical site, and shorter hospital stays and recovery times.
The new da Vinci surgical platform offers a potential breakthrough for many colorectal cancer patients. Never before have such precision and accuracy been available to expand a surgeon’s capability to treat colon and rectal cancers. da Vinci Surgery helps your doctor minimize pain and risk associated with surgery, while speeding your recovery and improving your clinical outlook. If you’ve been diagnosed with a colorectal cancer or condition that requires surgery, ask your doctor if you’re a candidate for the effective, minimally invasive da Vinci Surgery system. Contact Dr. Belizon at Minimally Invasive Colon and Rectal Surgery of South Florida for more information on the new Di Vinci minimally invasive alternative.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 13th, 2011 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Colon Cancer Treatment, Colon Surgery South Florida, Diverticulitis Facts, Hemorrhoid Symptoms, Minimally Invasive Florida Doctors, da Vinci Surgical System, minimally invasive da Vinci Surgery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.