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MILWAUKEE (5/30/2012) -  Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is the only pediatric hospital in Wisconsin using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery, a type of minimally invasive surgery. Children's Hospital pediatric urology surgeons use robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to treat a variety of conditions previously treated only with open surgery. Robot-assisted surgery allows surgeons to perform complex procedures through tiny incisions. The advantages of robot-assisted surgery for the patient may include less pain, less blood loss, less scarring, shorter hospital stays and shorter recovery time.
"Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery demonstrates our commitment to providing the best and safest care for our patients," said Travis Groth, MD, program director of Robotic Surgery at Children's Hospital and assistant professor of urology at The the Medical College of Wisconsin. "The minimally invasive approach allows us to provide the newest technology at a pediatric facility where the surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologist are all specially trained to treat children." Surgeons are able to operate with three interactive robotic arms while sitting at a console. The system interprets the surgeon's hand movements to the robotic instruments, which can move in a tiny surgical area with more precision and greater range of motion than the human wrist.
One of the robot's arms holds a camera that is lowered through a small incision to allow the surgeon to see inside the body in high definition and 3-D view while operating. The system provides up to 10 times magnification, helping the surgeon see small structures even more clearly than in open surgery.
The first patient treated at Children's Hospital with robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery a 15-year-old girl from Denmark, Wis., with an ureteropelvic junction obstruction (a blockage of urine flow from her kidney).
About Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is the region's only independent health care system dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. The hospital, with locations in Milwaukee and Neenah, Wis., is recognized as one of the leading pediatric health care centers in the United States and was named one of America's Best Children's Hospitals by U.S.News & World Report. Children's Hospital provides primary care, specialty care, urgent care, emergency care, community health services, foster and adoption services, child and family counseling, child advocacy services and family resource centers. In 2010, Children's Hospital invested more than $105 million in the community to improve the health status of children through medical care, advocacy, education and pediatric medical research. Children's Hospital achieves its mission in part through donations from individuals, corporations and foundations and is proud to be a Children's Miracle Network Hospital. For more information, visit the website at chw.org.
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