Robotic-assisted Weight-loss Surgery Performed at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center
February 11, 2022
Cheyenne, WY—In January bariatric surgeon Napoleon Cieza, MD, performed a robotic-assisted weight-loss surgery at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. It was the first time for a bariatric surgery to be performed at CRMC using the hospital’s da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system.
“The patient came through the surgery very well and was back at home recovering the next day,” said Dr. Cieza, who is in practice with Cheyenne Regional Medical Group Consultants in Surgery.
Dr. Cieza spent the past year evaluating how CRMC’s da Vinci Xi robot would function during a sleeve gastrectomy, a type of weight-loss surgery that forms a patient’s stomach into a smaller, sleeve-sized shape that holds less food.
The surgeon uses the da Vinci robot’s magnified 3D high-definition vision system to move the surgical instruments inside the patient’s body.
The instruments are extremely small and can bend and rotate to a much greater degree than the human wrist can.
“The da Vinci offers the surgeon greater visualization, enhanced dexterity and greater precision,” Dr. Cieza said. “For the patient this can mean less pain during recovery, shorter hospitalizations and a quicker overall recovery and return to normal activities.”
CRMC acquired its da Vinci Xi surgical system in 2015 as part of the hospital’s focus on providing state-of-the-art minimally invasive options for patients undergoing surgery.
“One of my colleagues, Dr. Jeremy Gates, has extensive experience using the da Vinci for general surgeries, and he was instrumental in helping us assess its capabilities and the advantages it can offer for weight-loss surgery patients,” Dr. Cieza said.
“We are extremely fortunate to have a piece of technology like this at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, and we are pleased to be able to offer this robotic-assisted procedure as part of our weight-loss program,” Dr. Cieza said.
More information about CRMC’s weight-loss program is available by calling (307) 632-1114.
