Franciscan St. James to host free "robotic surgery" demonstrations on March 25

Franciscan St. James Health invites the public to attend a free demonstrations of the new da Vinci Xi Surgical System on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Chicago Heights campus main lobby at 1423 Chicago Road.

The da Vinci Surgical Systems are designed to help doctors perform minimally invasive surgery. Sometimes called robotic surgery, the da Vinci is not programmed to perform surgery on its own. Instead, the surgery is performed entirely by a doctor, who controls the system employing high-definition 3D vision, a magnified view, and robotic and computer assistance.

Surgeons use a miniaturized surgical camera and wristed instruments, including scissors, scalpels and forceps, that are designed to help perform precise procedures deep inside the body.

Incisions made with the da Vinci are much smaller than those made during open surgery. da Vinci surgery is therefore considered minimally invasive surgery, which requires shorter hospital stays, less blood loss, fewer complications, reduced pain and potentially faster recovery.

The newly refined da Vinci Xi Surgical System is the latest addition to the da Vinci® product line. It has broader capabilities than prior generations of the da Vinci System.

The da Vinci Surgery System is used in a wide variety of procedures, including urologic surgery, colorectal surgery, general laparoscopic surgery, gynecologic surgery, thoracic surgery and some types of heart surgery.