Minimally invasive surgery

Our cardiology program includes cardiac robot-assisted surgeries, such as mitral valve repair and replacement, left atrial myxoma, tricuspid valve repair and replacement, Maze procedure and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We are one of the few hospitals in the region to perform robotic cardiothoracic procedures.

Many of our robot-assisted general surgical procedures overlap with our gastroenterology program. General procedures and surgeries address issues of the abdomen and digestive tract. Some of the procedures we can perform include:

• Adrenalectomy
• Appendectomy
• Cholecystectomy
• Colectomy
• Common bile duct exploration
• Esophagectomy
• Hernia repair
• Liver resection
• Nissen fundoplication
• Pancreatectomy
• Pyloromyotomy
• Small bowel resections and bypass
• Splenectomy

Gynecologic robot-assisted surgeries to treat a variety of conditions including advanced treatment for gynecologic cancers. Our procedures include hysterectomy, myomectomy, sacrocolpopexy and endometriosis resection.

Our experts now are using transoral surgery robot-assisted surgery (TORS) to perform extremely accurate surgeries without incisions. Transoral robot-assisted surgery is being used to treat benign and cancerous tumors (less than four cm) of the mouth and throat as well as benign base of tongue reactions.

We were the first hospital in the Denver metro region to offer minimally invasive surgery to remove a blood clot from the brain for patients with an intracerebral hemorrhage, a neurological condition. The neuroevacuation device uses controlled aspiration to remove blood and tissue from the cerebrum and ventricular systems of the brain during minimally invasive neurosurgery.

If you are having a hemorrhagic stroke (cerebrovascular accident), this procedure provides you with another viable treatment.

Swedish Medical Center is the first hospital in the five-state Rocky Mountain Region to add a single-port (SP) robot to its fleet of surgical robots. The SP robot allows surgeons to complete delicate, complex procedures through only a single, one-inch incision. Surgery with the SP robot begins with the surgical team creating the first and only incision. Through this incision, a tube is placed, which contains a camera and three instruments. Surgeons then use external controls to manipulate these tools, which are fully articulating and allow for triangulation and 360o rotation.

The robot’s innovative design provides greater reach than multi-port robots, exceptional dexterity (greater than the human hand) and increased precision. For patients, this often means less pain, better outcomes, reduced hospital stays, shorter recovery times and diminished scarring. The SP robot currently is approved for head and neck surgeries as well as urologic procedures, including prostate, kidney and urinary tract surgeries.

Our spine surgeons use specialized robotic technology to perform spinal procedures. The technology creates a 3D image of the spine to help increase the precision of the procedure while also reducing the trauma to the body that is typically seen with surgery.

We offer stereotactic radiosurgery, a unique process that uses precise radiation beams to focus and treat a specific area in the brain. This procedure avoids surgically opening the skull, with favorable results for the patient’s quality of life, treatment cost, clinical outcomes and reduction of complications.

Benefits of stereotactic radiosurgery

Stereotactic radiosurgery offers a multitude of benefits for patients:

• It is a safe, accurate, reliable and non-invasive outpatient procedure.
• It is usually covered by Medicare and most insurance providers.
• Patients are usually discharged within 12 hours, reducing the cost of treatment compared to traditional brain surgery
• Patients experience virtually no pain, discomfort or side effects
• Patients usually return to preoperative lifestyle the day following the procedure

Our hospital's use of stereotactic radiosurgery has proven results documented in more than 2,000 peer-reviewed published papers.

Conditions we treat with stereotactic radiosurgery

We use stereotactic radiosurgery to treat a variety of conditions, including:

• Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
• Brain metastases
• Intracranial tumors
• Meningiomas
• Pituitary tumors
• Vestibular schwannomas

It is also used for vascular treatments, and research is being conducted on other possible uses, such as treating epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, trigeminal neuralgia and uveal melanoma.

Lung nodule biopsy, lung cancer surgery, lobectomy and mediastinal masses (chest tumor) resection can be performed with the assistance of the robot, leaving less trauma on the body.

Our experts are now using TORS to perform extremely accurate surgeries without incisions. Transoral robot-assisted surgery is being used to treat benign and cancerous tumors (less than 4 centimeters) of the mouth and throat, as well as benign base of tongue conditions.

Our highly trained urologic surgeons use the most advanced robotic technology to perform many types of urologic surgery. Many procedures begin prior to the operating room with our state-of-the-art robotic platform creating a 3D model of your unique anatomy, compiled from presurgical imaging. Your surgeon then uses this model to map out a surgical plan, customized specifically for you.

This plan is put into action with the assistance of additional robotic technology. Through small incisions, your surgeon operates robotic arms that provide magnified visualization of the procedure and move with dexterity greater than the human hand.

Throughout the procedure, the 3D model is used to ensure accuracy. The result is a more precise, less invasive procedure. Our team provides a full range of urologic surgeries with robotic assistance, including:

• Adrenalectomy
• Cystectomy
• Lymph node dissection
• Nephrectomy
• Partial cystectomy
• Partial nephrectomy
• Prostatectomy
• Pyeloplasty
• Sacrocolpopexy
• Ureter reconstruction
• Vesicovaginal fistula repair