ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Sentara Albemarle Medical Center introduced the newest member of its surgery team Thursday: a robot named Leo.
The high-tech helper is a da Vinci Robotic Surgery System. It was rolled out at the medical center earlier this year. An area student named the device 'Leo.'
"I wanted to give a nod towards Leonardo da Vinci but with something simplistic. So when patients come they won't be fearful of what it could be and it will kind of relax them and ease the nerves," said Joel Overman, Elizabeth City student who named the robot.
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The device is made to help surgeons with things like general surgery, OB/GYN and urology.
Without robotic help, surgeons often use handheld tools in open surgery or traditional laparoscopic surgery.
Dr. Zachary Wohlgemuth staff physician/obstetrician at Sentara told News 3 what the traditional methods of surgery feel like:
"It's like tying your shoes with casts on your wrists," said Dr. Wohlgemuth.
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Then he demonstrated how Leo worked.
"You get the dexterity, you get the moving of your wrists to different positions. But also it's the visualization. You can't see nearly as good in 2D as you can in 3D." said Dr. Wohlgemuth.
The system uses a surgeon's hand movements to move Leo with precision.
The team at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center credits the robot with bringing in two additional surgeons to the area too.
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"Most people, I would say, coming out trained in surgical specialties are trained on the robot and that's what they're looking for. So, for the ability for our hospital to have only 100 beds, or 80 beds at the new hospital, to be able to have a robot is huge for recruitment," said Dr. Wohlgemuth.
Dr. Wohlgemuth has noticed Leo is making a difference for patients too.
"It is a better way for me to get hard cases done safely and it allows us to keep patients in the area locally instead of having to send them off for some of the more complex stuff," said Dr. Wohlgemuth.
Though the cost to a patient depends on insurance, Dr. Wohlgemuth said the device typically speeds up surgery and reduces hospital stays.
So far, he added, Leo's been an exciting addition to the surgery team.
