Wheeling Hospital Surgeon Predicts Continued Growth of Medical Robotics

WHEELING — WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital general surgeon Dr. Wayne Myers believes the use of robotics technology will continue to expand in health care, as he has witnessed robotics grow to be used in many surgical specialties over the past 10 years.

Myers first encountered robotics in the medical field during his general surgery residency in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He noted that the technology was “fairly new” when he was introduced to it around 2012.

“Robotics technology has grown so that many different specialties are using it,” Myers said. “Its use started with general surgeons, and then it became more popular with urology and gynecology.”

Myers became certified to use the DaVinci Robotic Surgical System for procedures after learning skill sets for the technology at the company’s cadaver lab in Atlanta, Georgia. Myers first used the technology for hernia procedures, bariatric surgeries and sleeve gastrectomies.

Wheeling Hospital uses the DaVinci Robotic Surgical System for various procedures. The hospital has four different DaVinci robot machines for general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology procedures.

Myers said the technology is also used for colorectal and cardiothoracic surgeries.

Robotic technology is employed during surgeries using two consoles. One console, next to the patient, is equipped with arms that hold surgical instruments, while the surgeon uses the other console to control these arms and view the procedure. The surgeon can control up to four different arms located on the console next to the patient.

Myers said the instruments used during robotic surgery procedures are very similar to “typical” laparoscopic instruments but provide “more articulation” at the end of the instrument.

Myers said the technology also allows the surgeon to work all the instruments they need to by themselves during the surgery. For laparoscopic procedures that do not use robotics, a nurse would typically control the camera for the surgeon to view the procedure,

“Using robotics allows me to have two working arms as well as an assistant arm I can control, which helps me get into tighter spaces during surgery,” Myers noted. “The technology is becoming more popular with urology and gynecology because they work in the pelvis, which is a tighter space.”

In addition to allowing entrance into tighter spaces during surgery, Myers added the technology allows for easier dissection through the articulation of instruments that can move “just like wrists.” He noted the other technological benefits of the machinery, such as staplers that can detect whether body tissues are too thick or thin before the staple is fired.

“When you’re performing surgery laparoscopically, you don’t have that feedback,” Myers noted. “When you’re using the robot, it tells you the tissue thickness, which lets you know whether you should change your trapper to a bigger or a smaller one. That really helps to prevent leaks after surgery.”

Apart from making Myers’ job more precise, he noted that the technology does have benefits for patients, including an easier recovery from surgery. He said using robots results in fewer leaks after surgery and less pain during recovery.

“The way we operate laparoscopically or robotically, we put almost like little straws called trocars into the abdomen,” Myers said. “When you’re doing it laparoscopically, you’re kind of torquing on those trocars, which can cause pain in the abdomen. Using the robot, there’s a black line that you put right at the muscle line, and it’s a zero pivot point, so it’s less trauma to the abdominal wall, which makes for less pain after surgery.”

Myers believes the use of robotics in the medical field will continue to grow. He noted new developments in the technology are still being made available for surgeons.

“Robotics is a growing field, as pretty much every specialty using robotics now was not using it 10 years ago,” Myers said. “It’s growing in each specialty as surgeons find what aspects of the technology they benefit from.”

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