Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is one of the first hospitals and health systems in the world and the only one in Pennsylvania to offer patients the latest in robotic surgery technology. The health network has installed and now offers a variety of surgical procedures using the da Vinci 5 surgical system, manufactured by Intuitive, at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest in Allentown.
Da Vinci 5 is Intuitive’s most advanced surgical system, designed to transform surgery to enable better patient outcomes, efficiency and insights, and as a result, help lower the total cost of care. Da Vinci 5 comes from more than a decade of research and development, and is built upon the clinical and operational value from more than 14 million procedures that have been performed using various generations of da Vinci technology.
"We don't want to just do robotics for the sake of doing robotics,” says James Miller, President of LVHN’s Northampton region and Senior Vice President of Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence. “We want to do it because we believe in it and there are better outcomes from a clinical standpoint, as well as from a value standpoint.”
Da Vinci 5 brings significant technology advances to help improve patient outcomes. It will allow surgeons to feel more and see more. And it addresses often undervalued surgeon ergonomics.
Da Vinci 5 introduces Force Feedback technology and instruments that enable surgeons to sense and measure the force exerted on tissue during surgery.
“Force feedback is a first of its kind technology. Preclinical trials showed up to 43 percent less force on tissue. That translates to gentler surgery for patients,” says Myrian J. Curet, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Intuitive.
Da Vinci 5 has innovative features that increase surgeon autonomy and can help streamline surgeon and care team workflow, which also provides efficiency for the patient undergoing a procedure. For example, greater surgeon comfort ergonomics are often undervalued by the broader health care community. However, da Vinci 5 patients benefit from Intuitive’s well-established attention to surgeon comfort. The system features a redesigned console capable of customizable positioning, allowing surgeons to find their best fit for surgical viewing and comfort. Surgeons can make any necessary adjustments while their head is in the console. In addition, the da Vinci 5 console allows surgeons to adjust settings for a completely upright position, with options designed to fit different body types, including surgeons who are pregnant.
Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence now offers 17 da Vinci robotic surgical systems across 15 specialties. Now in its 16th year, the Institute’s robotic surgery program continues to grow, with the 35,000th robotic procedure performed in December. Assuming the current trend continues, 50,000 should occur early in 2025, or sooner.
“The high number of robotic surgeries we provide means LVHN has the experience to care for you should you need surgical care,” says Michael Pasquale, MD, Physician in Chief, Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence. “The more procedures you do, the better robotic surgeon you become, and robotic procedures result in less pain, less blood loss and get you back to being you in less time.”
