Swedish reports robot-assisted surgery on Twitter

Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center described a robotic-assisted surgery case step-by-step on the micro-blogging service Twitter Wednesday morning.

Photos of the procedure were posted on Tweetphoto.com.

The patient was a 69-year-old man from northern California with kidney cancer who had consented to the Twitter reports.

The surgery was performed with a robotic system that allows the surgeon to operate through a small incision and to manipulate instruments with a precision that cannot be achieved by the unassisted human hand.

Dr. James Porter

The surgery was performed by Dr. James Porter, a urologic surgeon and medical director of Swedish’s Robotic-Assisted Surgery program, who is the first surgeon to use the robotic system to approach the kidney, which lays against the back of the abdomen, from behind.

In the operation, Dr. Porter removed the tumor while sparing as much of the healthy kidney as possible.

The approach is less traumatic than operating through a large incision and usually allows patients to recover much faster.

To learn more:

• Visit the Swedish Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/swedish
• To view photos from the OR by Aaron Blank go to: http://tweetphoto.com/14735593
• Read LocalHealthGuide’s story about the Swedish’s robotic-assisted surgery program.

Note: The reporter has performed editorial services for Swedish Medical Center.

Tags: DaVinci, Robotic Surgery, Surgery, Swedish Medical Center

Category: Swedish Hospital