JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville on Monday offered a hands-on robotic surgery experience.
A robot at the hospital is making things easier for people going under the knife.
"Patients are going home much quicker. They're back to their normal, daily lives much quicker," said Dr. Stephen Buckley, a gynecologic oncology surgeon at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville. "With minimally invasive surgery, the risk of significant complication is reduced because you're making small incisions."
Buckley has performed 2,000 procedures with the da Vinci Xi surgical system, placing him in the top 0.5% of surgeons in the country to do so.
"It's a computerized surgical instrument. That really allows us high definition optics, for visualization, and very tiny precise instruments that have extreme mobility -- like I said, more than the human wrist," Buckley said.
Through these procedures with the robot, he is helping patients like gynecologic cancer survivor Delaney Williams.
Williams had a total hysterectomy and her surgery was performed by Buckley and the robot.
She had her procedure and was back home in 24 hours with no complications, and is now cancer-free. Williams said she only had to take two painkillers.
"I felt great. I mean, I felt great the very next day and, every day, I feel even better," Williams said. "I'm grateful. I'm thankful."
She and several others got to test the robotic surgery experience through simulations Monday at the hospital.
Buckley said the technology has given the hospital a leg up.
"The Baptist commitment to minimally invasive surgery and robotic surgery has had a huge impact on my ability to care for patients," Buckley said. "Baptist has really become the leader in the region."
For more information on this kind of surgery, visit baptistjax.com.