PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 10, 2014 — The Oregon Clinic is excited to announce that Chet Hammill, MD, is the first surgeon in the world to attempt and complete a robotic-assisted hernia repair with component separation using the da Vinci Xi System from Intuitive Surgical. The minimally invasive procedure was performed on Monday, Sep. 8, at Portland Providence Medical Center and the patient is recovering well after experiencing a shorter hospital stay and less pain than a standard hernia repair surgery.
“I’m thrilled that a lucky string of events led to me being the first person to do a hernia repair with component separation on the Xi System,” shared Dr. Hammill, The Oregon Clinic Gastrointestinal & Minimally Invasive Surgery. “This is a complex procedure that the new robotic surgical system is particularly well suited to, and one of the few procedures that I feel could not be performed in a minimally invasive method without the capabilities that the Xi System offers.”
The patient is a 30-year old woman who had a large complex hernia from a previous surgery. The high-definition 3D imaging within the Xi System allowed Dr. Hammill to perform a ventral hernia repair with bilateral posterior component separation with significantly smaller incisions – six incisions at 8mm size vs. a 20cm or larger incision with standard surgery – thus decreasing the amount of pain during healing and the length of hospital stay. The patient spent only three days in the hospital following the successful procedure; with standard surgery she likely would have spent up to five days in the hospital, mostly for pain control.
“Only a handful of surgeons in the US are capable of performing this complex, minimally invasive hernia repair and we are excited and proud that Dr. Hammill is the first to do so with the Xi System. The Oregon Clinic is especially proud he was able to achieve such positive results for the patient, greatly reducing incision size and shortening recovery time,” stated Dr. Craig Fausel, president and CEO for The Oregon Clinic.
Dr. Chet Hammill is a surgeon with The Oregon Clinic Gastrointestinal & Minimally Invasive Surgery and an active researcher with multiple peer-reviewed publications in the field of liver,pancreas, and bile duct surgery. He trained on the da Vinci System during residency in 2008 and started doing complex procedures during his Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery Fellowship. Earlier this year Dr. Hammill was trained on the new da Vinci Xi System including a hernia course in Atlanta. His online profile can be found www.oregonclinic.com/our-team/chethammill. To refer a patient, contact Gastrointestinal & Minimally Invasive Surgery at 503-281-0561 or submit a referral form online.
The da Vinci Surgical System from Intuitive Surgical is a tool that utilizes advanced robotics, computer, and optical technologies to assist surgeons with complex operations. It does not act on its own and its movements are controlled by the surgeon. The new Xi System, released earlier this year, features a 3D high-definition vision system, plus special instruments and computer software that allow surgeons to operate with enhanced vision, precision, dexterity, and control.
About The Oregon Clinic
The Oregon Clinic is the largest physician-owned specialty medicine practice in Oregon, with more than 180 providers covering more than 30 medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties.
Founded in Portland in 1994, The Oregon Clinic’s physicians and staff collaborate
with primary care physicians and use a team approach to address health conditions at nearly 20 locations across northwest Oregon and southwest Washington—from Vancouver to Salem and Gresham to Astoria. Visit www.oregonclinic.com or call 503-935-8000 for more information.
For more information on the daVinci System, see the Fact Sheet, “MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY and DAVINCI ROBOTIC SYSTEMS” or visit www.intuitivesurgical.com
For more informtaion contact: Amy Myers, 503-807-8929, or [email protected]
Jeannette Shupp, 503-963-2893, [email protected]
