New robot may ease prostate surgery for Oklahomans

Note: Video contains graphic content.

The 66-year-old man lay unconscious on the operating room table Tuesday as OU Medical Center doctors made small incisions in his abdomen to insert a tiny camera and surgical instruments.

The goal? To remove his cancer-ridden prostate without damaging the nerves that control urine flow and erectile function.

Dr. Carson Wong sat several feet away, peering into a console. He prepared to operate the handles and pedals that robotically move surgical instruments into tight corners of the human body.

But doctors would go no further this day. The patient, who had taken the blood thinner Plavix, was bleeding a little too easily. The instruments were removed, and he was stitched up to await surgery another day.

The cancellation was a precaution, Wong said. He had no doubt the patient would soon be scheduled for another operation.

Wong, medical director for the hospital's Center for Robotic Surgery, has operated on half a dozen prostate cancer patients in recent weeks using a new system. The $1.7 million high-definition da Vinci surgical system is the latest generation of high-tech machinery embraced by doctors like Wong.

They say the system is less invasive than conventional open surgery, which requires a large incision, and can reduce blood loss and speed recovery.

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