FDL Regional Clinic Surgeon Performs First Robotic Gallbladder Surgery

Daniel Reynolds MD, a Fond du Lac Regional Clinic board-certified general surgeon, has performed the first robotic gallbladder surgery (or cholecystectomy) using Agnesian HealthCare’s da Vinci Surgical System.

As a result, St. Agnes Hospital (where the procedure was performed) is the first hospital in an eight-county area to offer da Vinci single site surgery.

Dr. Reynolds was able to remove the patient’s gallbladder through one tiny incision in the belly button, making the procedure virtually scarless.

“Patients, who can benefit from the single-site da Vinci Surgery, experience a virtually scarless procedure since surgery is performed through only one incision in the navel (belly button), which dramatically limits visible scarring,” according to Dr. Reynolds. “This new surgical option also helps to reduce discomfort and shorten hospital stays.”

More than one million people in the United States have their gallbladder removed each year. Most are performed with traditional laparoscopy using several incisions (laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or removal of the gallbladder).

By using robotic assistance, Dr. Reynolds removed the gallbladder through an incision of approximately one inch. The surgery can be performed in about one hour and is considered an outpatient procedure.

During the procedure, the surgeon sits at a console, viewing a magnified 3D high- definition image of the patient’s anatomy. The surgeon uses controls below the viewer to move the instrument arms and camera. In real-time, the system translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist and finger movements into more precise movements of the miniaturized instruments inside the patient.

The da Vinci Surgical System has been used successfully worldwide in hundreds of thousands of procedures to date.

To learn more about gallbladder surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System, call the Fond du Lac Regional Clinic General Surgery department at (920) 926-8485.trademarks