In another advancement of minimally invasive surgery, a cardiac surgeon at St. Mary’s Medical Center is now using the da Vinci robotic surgery system to perform coronary artery bypass surgery.
“By using the robot, the surgery doesn’t require the big incision through the sternum to repair the coronary arteries or the need to stop the heart from beating during the surgery,” said Thomas Pollard, M.D., a board-certified cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon with the East Tennessee Cardiovascular Surgery Group.  “This helps to prevent the associated risks and complications from cracking open the chest as is done in traditional coronary artery bypass surgery.”

“Robotic-assisted cardiac revascularization only requires three small incisions to perform the surgery and provides the patient with all the benefits of minimally invasive surgery. These may include reduced blood loss, less post-operative pain and discomfort, less risk of infection, shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery and return to normal activities,” Dr. Pollard said.

Surgeons at St. Mary’s Medical Center have been performing robotic-assisted surgery since 2006, when Dr. Chris Ramsey, a board-certified urologist, removed a prostate (a prostatectomy) using the robotic surgery system.  The da Vinci S Robotic System interprets and refines the surgeon’s hand movements, allowing for complex dissection or reconstruction in a minimally invasive environment.  This robotic technology is designed to scale, filter, and seamlessly translate the surgeons hand movements into the precise movements of the robotic arms and instruments.

Cardiac, prostate and gynecological procedures are now being done at St. Mary’s using the surgical robot.  Dr. Pollard was the first in the Knoxville area to perform a robotic-assisted TMR, or transmyocardinal revascularization, procedure, a proven technique to relieve the angina resulting from heart disease.

Michael Fields, M.D., was the first surgeon in the world to perform a hysterectomy using a newly developed laser-robotic surgery system.  Dr. Fields used a prototype robotic surgery system that replaces the traditional cutting scissors on one arm of the robotic da Vinci S Surgical System with a laser to cut out the uterus.

St. Mary’s Medical Center is a member of Mercy Health Partners.  Mercy was formed by the merger of St. Mary’s Health System and Baptist Health System of East Tennessee in 2008.  The new healthcare system operates seven acute-care hospitals and many other healthcare facilities across East Tennessee.  More than 1,000 of the area’s leading physicians on the active staff at Mercy facilities.  One of East Tennessee’s largest employers, Mercy has 5,700 associates dedicated to providing compassionate care using the latest medical technology.

For physician referral and service information, please call the Ask Mercy phone line at 632-5200 (toll-free at 877-368-7362).  A complete list of Mercy physicians, facilities, services and extensive health information is available online at www.mercy.com.  Click here for more information on Dr. Pollard.