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Walterboro, SC (May 15, 2019) – Local area high school students got to try their hands at robotic surgery through a simulation with Colleton Medical Center’s new Da Vinci robot Tuesday.  Colleton Medical Center began using its first Da Vinci robotic surgical system last year.

High school students with interests in medicine, engineering, biology and robotics were invited to a demonstration of the new robotic device in the hospitals ambulatory surgery center.  Surgeons at Colleton Medical Center have performed 66 robotics procedures since the launch of the new program in October.

Currently, three surgeons are using the da Vinci system for general surgery and specialized gynecological procedures.  Dedicated robotic teams of nurses and technicians work with the surgeons.

“We’re training more surgeons, and more specialties are going to be offered,” said CEO at Colleton Medical Center, Jimmy Hiott.  “Robots can get in where a person’s hands cannot.”

During a procedure, a surgeon sits at a console near the operating table and looks at a 3D screen while using controllers to move the robot’s mechanical arms in the surgical field.  An overhead monitor also shows the instruments’ movement.  The system enhances a surgeon’s precision and flexibility for manipulating instruments.

For more information about surgical services at Colleton Medical Center, call (843) 782-2000.