This is video of Dr. Kevin Kopesky, Physicians' Clinic of Iowa surgeon, performing the first robot-assisted single-incision gallbladder removal surgery in Cedar Rapids at St. Luke's Hospital -- Iowa's robotic leader --on Thursday, April 5. The procedure removes the gallbladder from the patient -- making a small, single incision in the patients' belly button using the da Vinci robot-assisted system. Gallbladder surgery typically requires a large opening in the abdomen, or in laparoscopic surgery, multiple incisions in the abdomen. Traditional surgery generally requires an in-patient hospital stay with recovery times ranging from days to week. With robotic surgery, the patient will spend one night in the hospital and resume normal activity as soon as they feel up to it.
To see more go to stlukescr.org/gallbladder
