Colorectal Surgery Center
Did you know age is the leading risk factor for colorectal cancer? In fact, a majority of people with colorectal cancer are older than 50.
If you or someone you know is at risk or has been diagnosed, the Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital is a leader in robotic colorectal surgery.
We've performed more robotic colorectal surgical procedures than any other hospital or surgery center in the Chicago metropolitan area. Silver Cross is also part of an elite group of nationally recognized General Surgery Epicenters.
Doctors from all over the United States and South America travel to Silver Cross to learn advanced techniques from Reza Gamagami, M.D. and our robotic surgical team.
Conditions
The colon and rectum are part of your large intestine. The main purpose of these organs is to process and pass waste from your body. There are many conditions that can affect your colon, such as:
Cancer
Crohn’s disease
Diverticulitis
Ulcerative colitis
Rectal prolapse
Treatment options often depend on your symptoms, how often they occur, your age and overall health. If medicine, therapies, and lifestyle changes do not ease your symptoms, your doctor may suggest surgery.
Robotic Surgery
Compared with traditional open surgery, robotic surgery requires significantly smaller incisions. The potential benefits for colorectal patients include:
- Reduced pain
- Lower risk of complications
- Minimal blood loss
- Less scarring
- Shorter hospital stay
- Fast recovery time
- Speedier return of bowel function
- Faster return to normal diet
Using a da Vinci® robot, the surgeon makes a few small incisions in the abdomen using long, thin instruments and a tiny camera. The camera sends images to a video monitor in the operating room to guide your surgeon during the operation. The robot is designed to provide surgeons with enhanced capabilities, including high definition 3D vision and a magnified view. Your doctor controls the robot, which translates his or her hand movements into smaller, precise movements of tiny instruments inside your body. The robot cannot act on its own. Surgery is performed entirely by your doctor.
Your surgeon may use Firefly™ Fluorescence Imaging to find vessels and tissue that couldn’t be seen by the human eye. Firefly combines a special video camera and a dye that binds to proteins to make those vessels and tissue visible during robotic surgery. The system also gives your surgeon the ability to detect sentinel lymph nodes, where the cancer is most likely to spread from a primary tumor.
Talk to your doctor to decide if robotic surgery is right for you. As with any surgery, there are risks.
Procedures
Specially trained colorectal surgeons perform the following complex procedures at Silver Cross Hospital using advanced robotic techniques.
- Colectomy/Colon Resection: Surgery to remove the diseased part of your colon and connect the healthy bowel that remains.
- Right Colectomy: Surgery on the right side of your colon (large intestine).
- Left Colectomy: Surgery on your left colon.
- Sigmoid Colectomy: Surgery on the sigmoid colon which is the lower left part of your colon before your rectum.
- Total Colectomy: Surgery to remove the entire colon.
- Protectomy: Surgery to remove the rectum (lower anterior resection).
- Rectopexy: Surgery to restore the rectum to its normal position.
To be affiliated with the Midwest Institute of Robotic Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital, colorectal surgeons must meet rigorous criteria and demonstrate excellent outcomes and high patient satisfaction.
