Patients undergoing colorectal care that requires surgery can often benefit from robotic surgery performed with the da Vinci Surgical System. This method allows doctors to perform laparoscopic surgeries with greater precision and control than traditional surgery.

Robotic surgery can be used for colon resections, rectal prolapse repair, colon cancer and other pelvic procedures.

The benefits of using robotic surgery include:

• Smaller incisions
• Less pain
• More precise dissection
• Shorter hospital stay
• Faster return to work when compared to traditional surgery

Robotic surgery specialists for colorectal care:

• Elizabeth Raskin, MD

Patient story - Beverly P.

After a 2006 surgery that left Beverly P. bedridden for six weeks and not quite herself for a full year, she was reluctant to undergo another one, especially since she felt physically able to continue without the procedure. "I kept delaying having my rectal prolapse repaired," she recalled, "but then I realized: if I put it off and don't take care of it, well, I started having visions of issues—issues my doctor confirmed would happen."

Beverly's first surgery had had a huge impact on the active 61-year-old's life. Normally an active golfer, she was forced to curtail her physical outings dramatically. In contrast, she found out a detail about her upcoming surgery that gave her great peace of mind: the da Vinci system. "Once my surgeon told me about da Vinci, it was a no-brainer," she commented. "I did go online to learn more, and I learned that it is not at all uncommon for women to have my issue, and that my doctor is one of the few to use the system to operate on it. And on the day of the surgery, I had really wonderful people prepping me and making me comfortable."

Beverly lists the differences after her 2010 surgery, and notes that each was dramatic: "There were just three small incisions, no discomfort, I hardly took any pain medication, it cut my recovery time in half, and I was walking and playing golf shortly after that. Why would you want to do it any other way?'"