Bolingbrook Man Takes Advantage of Latest Robotic Surgery Technology

Editor's Note: The following is a release from Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital.

Dennis Cantrell had lived with a constant ache under his rib cage for five years. That was before his gallbladder was removed April 10.

The surgery was a relief for the 55-year-old resident in more ways than one. His unhealthy gallbladder, the source of his constant discomfort, was gone. And his surgery went smoothly. Dr. Eric Yang, a general surgeon, performed the surgery at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital using the da Vinci® Si Surgical System. It is the newest high-tech surgical robot that allows surgeons to perform complicated procedures more precisely and in a minimally-invasive manner.

“There is no comparison to the hernia surgery I had six years ago,” Cantrell said. “My recovery with this surgery has been 100 percent easier. I have had far less pain and more energy. After the hernia surgery, I was laid up for a couple of weeks. But this time, I’ve already been shopping and I just walked to the pond with my grandson. I was moving around so much within days of the surgery that my wife told me to take it easier.”

When Yang performed the surgery, he became one of the first surgeons at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital to use the hospital’s recently-purchased da Vinci system.

“Our commitment to providing the best possible treatment for our patients includes using the newest technology,” said Mary Murphy, chief nursing officer at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital. “The da Vinci  gives our surgeons the best tools to offer minimally invasive surgery. And this translates into better outcomes for our patients.”

Benefits for the patient include less pain, small incisions and less scarring, less blood loss and a faster recovery.

Surgeons using the da Vinci sit at a console near the patient. Guided by a camera that provides an enhanced, 3-dimensional view of the surgical site, the surgeon moves the system’s four robotic arms to operate with precision. Experts consider the da Vinci to be superior over conventional laparoscopy. Using conventional laparoscopy, the surgeon stands and uses hand-held instruments that contain long shafts. The view is only two-dimensional.

“Using the da Vinci is like operating with miniaturized versions of my own hands,” Yang said. “It’s the most advanced form of minimially invasive surgery available.”

The da Vinci method can be used for hysterectomies, prostate and other urologic procedures, and gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, among other procedures. 

Several of the surgeons who have been doing cases for years at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, a sister hospital of Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, can now also perform robotic surgery at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital. Adventist Hinsdale purchased its own da Vinci system in 2009.

For more information on minimally invasive surgical options available at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, visit www.keepingyouwell.com/almh.