NW Health System introduces da Vinci at free seminars
By Janie Pritchett-Clark
Malcolm McNair Jr. is a handsome, dapper man with a meaningful job and a loving family. At 60, he is living proof of the advances in modern medicine, and in particular advances in prostate cancer treatment.
Recently McNair has returned to Northwest Medical Center – Springdale not as a patient but as a success story. On Wednesday mornings, he takes time to share a very personal story of his discovery and battle with prostate cancer, his fears in facing the disease and treatment, and his hopes that by being candid, he will make a difference in someone else’s life.
“Tell every man you know to get screened,” he tells attendees at a July seminar. The free session starts at 7:30 a.m. with a light breakfast, and lasts about an hour. There are both men and women in attendance, age 50 and older, and they are eager to learn about the newest member of the surgical team at Northwest Health System.
The da Vinci robot
The da Vinci robotic technology is a work of art and science. Originally developed for use in surgeries in combat, the da Vinci Surgical System is a minimally invasive alternative to both open surgery and laparoscopy.
Dr. Anthony J. Woodruff, who heads the surgical robotics team at Northwest Health, is the only urologist in Arkansas to have completed a fellowship that emphasizes robot-assisted surgery. He practices at Northwest Arkansas Urology Associates.
“There are a lot of procedures that can be done with this technology,” Woodruff explains. “The main advantage it provides our patients is decreased convalescence time, decreased blood loss and less scarring.”
“It’s technology with a human touch,” says Dan McKay, CEO, Northwest Health System. “Our physicians tell us this is an advancement that’s good for the men of Arkansas, and it’s right in our own backyard,” he says. “This is a big-city, big-hospital technology right here in Springdale.”
Having a treatment center close to home was important, says McNair, whose treatment for prostate cancer included da Vinci surgery under Woodruff ‘s care.
“I can’t imagine going through all of this and being away from home,” he says.
“We’re one of only 10 hospitals in Arkansas with this technology, and the only hospital in Northwest Arkansas to offer it,” says McKay.
Woodruff points out that most people have a lot of questions about this technology and are curious about it.
“These get-togethers are good for that,” he says.
In fact, participants can actually take da Vinci for a test drive.
“Currently about 75 percent of the prostatectomies in the United States are done with this device,” says Jeremy Beavers, da Vinci’s clinical sales representative from Intuitive Surgical.
He demonstrates how the robot performs in surgery, and then invites others to take the controls at the surgical console. Even in untrained hands, it’s easy to see why robotic surgery is finding favor. Like sewing cross-stitch or tightening a screw, the motion is “intuitive” with dexterity and precision.
The surgeon’s hand never enters the patient, and yet, every surgical maneuver requires direct input from the surgeon, Beavers explains. The system cannot be programmed to operate by itself, nor does it make decisions.
“What the robot does that differs from traditional laparoscopic surgery is increase the surgeon’s visualization,” Beavers explains. A high-resolution, 3-D camera and optical channels give the surgeon a view as good as, if not better than, his own eyes.
Unlike laparoscopic surgery, where movement is counter-intuitive, da Vinci’s “hand and wrist” motion is intuitive and articulates even better than a human’s.
“You can imagine how important that is in maneuvering around blood vessels and nerves,” Beavers says.
One of the benefits to robotic surgery in prostate removal is the minimization of nerve damage and subsequent adverse side effects common with traditional surgeries. And, as McNair shares, preserving continence and erectile function are near the top of the recovery list.
Prostate cancer awareness
In the past decade, prostate cancer has been the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer after skin cancer, and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the U.S. The American Cancer Society estimates that 30 percent of all new diagnoses will occur in men younger than 65.
The National Cancer Institute claims that about 90 percent of all prostate cancers are diagnosed at an early stage, and they credit PSA testing as one of the reasons.
Participants at the da Vinci breakfast at Northwest Health receive a free PSA screening. September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month and the final weeks of Northwest Health’s “meet da Vinci” sessions.
“Know the risks, beat the odds,” McNair says. “Men are not particularly good at taking care of themselves,” he says.”
With a little help from science and care professionals like those at Northwest Health, maybe that, too, can change.
