TMH Advances in Robotic Surgery as First Hospital in Panhandle to Use New System
January 27, 2025The ‘groundbreaking’ da Vinci 5 adds precision, analytics and imaging improvements to the hospital’s operating room.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Monday, Jan. 27, 2025) – Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) is excited to announce the arrival of Intuitive’s newest robotic system, the da Vinci 5. The improved robotic surgical system arrived at the hospital’s operating room last week and will be used in its first cases this week. TMH has been using da Vinci Surgical Systems for minimally-invasive surgery since 2005 and is the first hospital in the Florida Panhandle to begin using the upgraded da Vinci 5.
The da Vinci 5 promises enhanced patient safety and surgical precision for those undergoing a number of procedures at TMH in the area of gynecology, urology, oncology, thoracic, bariatric and general surgery. The system’s most notable new attribute is Force Feedback, a feature that allows surgeons to not only see the area they are operating on, but also to feel how much force is being applied to tissue, reducing disturbance to the surrounding tissue by 43%.
“As a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery, we’re committed to bringing new technology to our region to make surgeries safer, faster and less painful for our patients. Robotic surgery can greatly reduce pain and recovery time, getting patients back on their feet as quickly as possible,” said Logan Van Wagenen, MHA, LSSMBB, FACHE, Assistant Vice President of Operations at TMH. “The da Vinci 5 will also allow us to see data from each surgeon’s past procedures and learn how to become more precise, improving patient care.”
The da Vinci 5 system will become the sixth da Vinci robotic system at TMH. Robotic surgery allows surgeons to operate through incisions less than 8 millimeters in size with enhanced visualization, extreme precision in movements and complete control. To date, TMH has completed more than 12,830 procedures with da Vinci Robotic Surgical Systems.
“At TMH, we are proud to lead the way in robot-assisted surgery, and we’re thrilled to have our program recognized nationally by Intuitive,” said Joey Jarrard, MD, FACS, FASMBS, Chair of the Robotics Steering Committee and General Surgeon at TMH. “In the coming months, we will host surgeons from across the country, providing them with the opportunity to observe our robotics program and gain insights that they can bring back to their hospitals to enhance patient care.”
In 2021, TMH became the first hospital in the region to earn the Robotic Center of Excellence accreditation by the Surgical Review Corporation. Status as an accredited organization ensures TMH has met nationally recognized standards for the provision of quality healthcare.
To learn more about robotic surgery at TMH, visit TMH.ORG/RoboticSurgery.
