WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital has launched a robotic surgery program to offer minimally invasive surgical procedures to patients. Robotic-assisted surgery offers several benefits to patients, including less pain, shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery, smaller scars, and improved patient satisfaction.

While WellSpan patients have had access to this innovative technology at other locations across the region, the addition of robotic-assisted surgery at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital provides residents of Adams County with the ability to access this service close to home.

"We are excited to bring robotic surgery to WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital and offer residents of Adams County the benefits of minimally invasive procedures using the da Vinci® robotic surgery system," said Michael Cogliano, vice president of WellSpan Health and president of WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital.

Among the surgical procedures that will be performed with the da Vinci system are hernia repairs, gallbladder surgery, prostate surgery, and urological and gynecological surgery, including hysterectomies.

During robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon sits at a specially designed console in the operating room near the patient and performs the surgery by moving robotic instruments. One instrument holds a lighted endoscopic camera that provides the surgeon with a three-dimensional, high-definition image of the surgical field inside the patient's body.

The entire surgical team can see the field via a large viewing monitor. The other robotic arms hold instruments, which the surgeon moves at the console. These incisions made for robotic-assisted surgery are about the size of a dime, and usually can be covered with a small dressing about the size of a bandage after the procedure.

"I have been performing surgeries with the da Vinci system at WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital for years and am looking forward to offering this to patients in Gettysburg now," said Ashish Behari, MD, of WellSpan Urology, "Using robotic-assisted surgery helps patients recover more quickly so they can get back to doing what they enjoy."

In addition to Dr. Behari, other surgeons who will use the da Vinci system include Nyarai Mushonga, MD, of WellSpan Urogynecology & Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, and Asif Quyyum, DO, and Rajesh Makkenchery, MD, of WellSpan Surgical Specialists.

Click here to learn more about robotic-assisted surgery at WellSpan Health.