NEWARK ,
N.J., Aug. 15, 2006 -- Newark
Beth Israel Medical Center recently announced the opening
of its new Robotic Training Center, a state-of-the-art
facility where surgeons from around the world are undergoing
training in advanced robotic-assisted surgical techniques
using the da Vinci® S ™ Surgical
System. New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
Commissioner Dr. Fred Jacobs and Newark Mayor Cory Booker
attended the grand opening on Aug. 15th at 11a.m in the
Medical Center’s Danzis Auditorium.
Named as one of the 2005 Solucient 100
Top Hospitals Performance Improvement Leaders, Newark Beth
Israel Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas
Health Care System, is a 673-bed tertiary care teaching
hospital recognized for its expertise in robotic surgery.
Physicians at Newark Beth Israel perform robotic surgery
in more specialties than any other facility in the nation,
including adult cardiac, adult urology, pediatric urology,
gynecology, gynecologic oncology and general surgery. With
the opening of the new Center, the hospital is now the
only facility in the Eastern United States and one of only
three in the country to offer such comprehensive training.
“Four years ago we started using
the da Vinci robot exclusively for cardiac cases.
Since that time, we’ve expanded to seven specialties,
with plans to add three more by the end of the year,” said
Paul A. Mertz, Executive Director of Newark Beth Israel
Medical Center. “The benefits are clear for everyone:
patients who undergo robotic-assisted surgery experience
less bleeding, pain, and scarring, as well as reduced recovery
times.”
When the da Vinci® S ™ Surgical
System was subsequently approved for additional uses by
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Newark Beth Israel
surgeons in various specialties expressed interest in learning
how to use it, and were sent for training. “As a
result of our commitment to develop this program, robotic
surgery volume at Newark Beth Israel has increased dramatically.
We now have three da Vinci surgical systems to
respond to the demand,” Mr. Mertz said.
The da
Vinci® S ™ Surgical
Systemgives surgeons the control, range of motion and
3-D visualization that is characteristic of open surgery.
Robotic-assisted surgery incorporates techniques that
allow the surgeon to operate through several small incisions
about the size of a dime. In the operating room, the
surgeon sits at the console with his hands on the master
controls and his eyes on a 3-D image of the surgical
field. From the patient-side cart, four robotic arms
and one endoscope arm precisely translate the surgeon’s
movements through small incisions in the patient.
The opening of Newark Beth Israel’s
training center demonstrates the depth of its robotic surgery
program, and the medical community’s growing interest
in robotic-assisted surgery. “The success of the da
Vinci System is a clear example of how technology
is advancing improved patient care,” said Dennis
Bordan, MD, Chairman of Surgery at Newark Beth Israel. “It
is truly exciting for our institution to be at the forefront
of such an important advance in minimally invasive surgery.
We look forward to sharing our expertise.”
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is
a 673-bed regional referral teaching hospital with clinical
programs including robotic surgery, cardiac transplantation,
renal and pancreas transplantation, adult and pediatric
cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, hematology/oncology
and maternal/child care. Newark Beth Israel is the site
of Children’s Hospital of New Jersey and the Saint
Barnabas Heart Center at Newark Beth Israel.
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