SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital is continuing to lead innovation in cardiovascular care as the first hospital in Oklahoma to perform robotic cardiac surgery. The surgery was successfully performed Wednesday, June 17, with the hospital’s newest da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system, making it the only hospital in the Oklahoma City market with da Vinci 5 technology dedicated to cardiac procedures.
The milestone follows U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance earlier this year of the da Vinci 5 system for bypass surgery and select cardiac procedures. With a total of six robotic systems in its operating rooms, including a single-port system and a newly-installed da Vinci Xi in the system’s Shawnee hospital, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital has the most robotic platforms of any hospital in the state.
Alejandro Murillo-Berlioz, MD, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital cardiothoracic surgeon, performed the hospital’s first robotic cardiac procedures recently. “Robotic technology continues to transform the way we care for patients with heart disease,” he said. “The DV5 system is designed to enhance precision and visualization, allowing us to perform complex cardiac procedures through smaller incisions. This approach may help reduce trauma to the body while maintaining the highest standards of surgical care and improving outcomes for our patients.”
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 18 million deaths each year. Traditionally, many cardiac procedures require opening the chest by splitting the breastbone, which can result in increased pain, higher risk of complications and longer recovery times.
The da Vinci 5 system supports minimally invasive approaches by enabling surgeons to operate through small incisions without opening the breastbone. The advanced technology features 10,000 times more computing power than previous models, smart instrumentation that captures more than 1,000 data points per second and enhanced 3D imaging to improve visualization of vessels and blood flow. It also includes an integrated digital ecosystem that supports care from pre-operative planning through post-operative analysis.
Procedures supported by the system include mitral valve repair and replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting support procedures, atrial septal defect repair, left atrial appendage closure and other complex cardiac interventions.
“This investment underscores our commitment to providing our community with access to the most advanced care available, close to home,” said Tammy Powell, president of SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital and SSM Health Bone & Joint Hospital at St. Anthony. “Early on, surgeons at St. Anthony recognized the benefits of treating patients through the use of robotic technology, and they have fully embraced that approach. We are continually looking ahead to what’s on the horizon to take surgery to the next level. Today, we are proud to lead the way in Oklahoma, with more surgical robots than any other system in the state, and we remain focused on providing our patients with the safest, least invasive, and least painful treatment options possible.”
As with previous generations of robotic systems, the da Vinci 5 may offer several patient benefits, including reduced blood loss, less post-operative pain, shorter hospital stays, lower risk of infection and quicker recovery times.
The introduction of the da Vinci 5 system reflects SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital’s ongoing commitment to advancing surgical care and improving the health of the communities it serves. Learn more about robotic surgical services at SSM Health.
About SSM Health
Nationally recognized for quality and innovation, SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit, fully integrated health system working to advance health equity and empower all people to achieve their full potential. With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, SSM Health provides convenient access to high-quality community-based services as well as world-class academic medicine, clinical trials and research studies.
In Oklahoma, SSM Health includes St. Anthony Hospital (Oklahoma City), Bone & Joint Hospital at St. Anthony (Oklahoma City), SSM Health Outpatient Center (Oklahoma City), St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee (Shawnee, Okla.), St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee, Seminole Campus (Seminole, Okla.), St. Anthony Hospital - Midwest (Midwest City, Okla.), and two joint venture partnerships, SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital, an SSM Health Select Medical partnership (Oklahoma City), and SSM Health Oklahoma Spine Hospital, Physician Owned (Oklahoma City). The SSM Health network in Oklahoma also includes five SSM Health St. Anthony Healthplex campuses, seven managed hospitals, 15 rural affiliated hospitals and SSM Health Medical Group with more than 350 physicians and providers.
