ROBOTIC BYPASS SURGERY HAS PATIENT DANCING

TYLER, TX— James Pittner, 60, a Director of Manufacturing for a local grocery company, is a “get up and go” kind of guy. He exercises and eats right. He has a positive attitude. He enjoys life. So when he discovered that he would require coronary bypass surgery he worried this might considerably slow him down for a long period of time.

Luckily he was under the care of William F. Turner, MD, a cardiovascular surgeon at Mother Frances Hospital with Trinity Mother Frances Health System in Tyler, Texas. Mr. Pittner’s single bypass surgery was performed using one of TMFHS’ world-renowned technologies: the da Vinci surgical robot, the world’s most advanced robotic surgical technology.

As it turned out, coronary bypass surgery failed to not only slow Mr. Pittner down, it sent him dancing.

“After the surgery and a day of rest, the nurses asked if I was feeling up to walking a bit, I got up and walked right out of there. I was ready to go dancing,” says Pittner.

Mr. Pittner, a western dancer for 30 years, did indeed go dancing-on a Saturday evening, just three days after having single bypass surgery to repair a 100% blockage.

Pittner was able to do this in part of the da Vinci technology that Mother Frances Hospital offers. The da Vinci is designed to mimic the movement of the human hands, wrists, and fingers. The instruments translate the surgeon’s natural hand and wrist movements into corresponding, precise and scaled movement and are only able to move when commanded by the surgeon. The extensive range of motion allows precision that is not available in standard minimally invasive procedures.

Dr. Turner, says that the benefits of this robotic technology certainly outweigh those of traditional methods for repairing blockages.

“There is less risk of infection, shorter hospital stays, and less scarring; less blood loss and need for transfusions. It greatly reduces pain and trauma to the body making for a fast recovery-as evidence in Mr. Pittner’s case. In fact, over the counter pain reliever was all that was necessary for Mr. Pittner’s pain management,” says Dr. Turner.

With traditional surgery, it is necessary to make an incision down the chest and crack the patient’s breastbone to expose the heart making recovery time usually run approximately 8 to 12 weeks. With the da Vinci Robotic technology it is not necessary to crack the breastbone and a two-inch long incision is usually all that is required.

“No one likes to have surgery but I can say that Dr. Turner, the nurses, this technology-just my overall experience at Mother Frances Hospital-was one of my best experiences for one of the worst experiences of my life,” said Pittner.

For more information on Trinity Mother Frances Health System, visit www.tmfhs.org. Trinity Mother Frances Health System is comprised of Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler, Mother Frances Hospital-Jacksonville, and Trinity Clinic. Trinity Clinic is the most-preferred physician group in east, northeast and north-central Texas, with over 200 physicians representing 33 medical specialties.

# # #