Irving-Based CHRISTUS Health Acquires Advanced Robotic Surgical Systems » Dallas Innovates
Lynn Wyllie, vice president of peri-operative services at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances in Tyler, Texas [Photo: CHRISTUS]
CHRISTUS Health—an international Catholic nonprofit health system based in Irving—is gaining a technologic edge by snapping up one of the latest robotic solutions for some its hospitals, surgical teams, and patients.
CHRISTUS has acquired 15 new “cutting-edge” robotic surgical systems for some of the hospitals across its health system, which is made up of more than 600 centers, including community hospitals, urgent care centers, health insurance companies, and physician clinics.
“Robotic surgery techniques are rapidly evolving into the gold standard of care for a variety of surgical needs,” Dr. Sam Bagchi, EVP and chief clinical officer at CHRISTUS Health, said in a statement. “I’m excited about our leadership in transforming care for our patients as we work to create an amazing caregiving experience for our surgeons at CHRISTUS Health.”
da Vinci 5 system ‘is groundbreaking for robotic surgery’
CHRISTUS’ new tech is the da Vinci 5 surgical system from Sunnyvale, California-based Intuitive Surgical. Used for minimally invasive procedures. the device features robotic arms that surgeons completely control. The robotic arms translate a surgeon’s hand movements into smaller, more precise movements using tiny instruments. An “immersive vision system” provides surgeons with a highly magnified view, “virtually extending their eyes and hands throughout the surgery,” CHRISTUS said.
The device is the brand-new fifth generation of Intuitive’s flagship robotic surgery system. In March, the company announced that da Vinci 5 would be introduced in a phased launch extending into 2025.
“We believe this is groundbreaking for robotic surgery,” said Intuitive Chief Medical Office Myriam Curet, according to MedTech Dive. “In preclinical testing, surgeons who used the force feedback instruments of da Vinci 5 exerted significantly less force on tissue, which could translate into less tissue trauma during surgery when compared to da Vinci Xi.”
Dr. Doug Stoddard, director of robotic surgery at CHRISTUS Health, said da Vinci 5 and its minimally invasive approach “allow our patients to undergo their necessary procedures with less recovery time and provides them with optimal results.”
“Our patients may also experience less pain and scarring and less risk of infection,” Stoddard added in a statement.
The new robotics technology will be used for urology, gynecology, thoracic and general surgeries, CHRISTUS said, adding that procedures using the tech “are now being scheduled and performed.”
The healthcare system says it’s “committed to providing patients with innovative and compassionate health care,” and that the new technology “is part of CHRISTUS Health’s high-reliability strategy to continually advance the consistency and effectiveness of the care it is blessed to provide the communities it serves.”
CHRISTUS Health unveiled its new HQ in Las Colinas last October
CHRISTUS Health’s 15-story headquarters at Las Colinas in Irving was unveiled in October 2023. [Photo: CHRISTUS Health]
In October, CHRISTUS Health unveiled its new, 15-story, “state-of-the-art” corporate headquarters on a 4.2-acre parcel in Irving’s Las Colinas.
The 460,000-square-foot tower is adjacent to a 10-story parking garage and houses around 2,000 CHRISTUS Health associates who support the nonprofit health system from Irving.
On the HQ’s unveiling, President and CEO Ernie Sadau said the building “symbolizes our 150-year legacy in the communities we serve across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, as well as Mexico, Colombia, and Chile in Latin America.”
“While we don’t have hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, it’s important to us to invest in our associates who office here to support our ministries and their growth around the globe,” Sadau added in a statement last October. “We’re doing this by providing them with a uniquely crafted space that not only better suits their needs, but also the needs of future associates who will join us in living out our important mission.”
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