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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Robotic Surgery for High-Precision Procedures

West Hills Hospital & Medical Center recently purchased a piece of robotic equipment that should decrease patient recovery time, blood loss, incision size as well as the need for pain medications following surgery. The da Vinci Xi Surgical System allows a doctor to perform certain procedures from behind a computer screen that displays three-dimensional, high-definition images of the patient’s body via a flexible tube with a camera and light on the end. From the screen’s console, the surgeon controls high-precision surgical tools attached to robotic arms that perform the surgery with pinpoint accuracy, leading to better outcomes for the patient. “We have the latest generation with the most state-of-the-art software,” said Dr. Frank Candela, a general and laparoscopic surgeon at the West Hills facility. “It is becoming common in that almost all the bigger hospitals in the San Fernando and Conejo valleys are going to have robotic technology.” Candela has been using the device for about a year and a half at both Providence Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana and Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. After surgery with the da Vinci Xi system, he said, patients have shorter hospitalizations, if any at all, and tend to get back to work and activities quicker. However, he warned of the learning curve as it takes time for doctors to properly use the technology. The robotic system costs a little less than $2 million, according to San Francisco-based Healthline Media Inc., a health information provider. West Hills Hospital would not disclose how much it paid for the equipment. “It is important for the hospital to offer the most advanced technology in the community, and we want to remain competitive and ahead in the marketplace,” a spokeswoman for West Hills Hospital wrote in an email to the Business Journal. Candela added that ideal procedures for the da Vinci Xi system include hernia, colon and prostate as well as chest and lung surgeries. “Minimally invasive surgery is a growing field,” he said. “More and more surgeons are utilizing it because of the benefits, and more and more patients are becoming informed and are asking for it.” UCLA Burbank The UCLA Health system has been growing throughout the greater Valley region since opening its first local office in Westlake Village five years ago. Recently, the Westwood-based health network comprised of hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices unveiled its newest facility in Burbank, which has been seeing approximately 40 to 60 patients a day, according to Dr. Kabir Matharu, a physician at the practice. “Patients have really liked it (the Burbank office),” he said. “I think they especially like getting the amount of time they need to review all medical issues. The plan is to become a large multispecialty extension of UCLA, providing all the services you get on the Westside here in the community.” The 2625 W. Alameda Ave. location, which sits across the street from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, houses primary care and specialty care practices, including cardiology, endocrinology, rheumatology, pulmonary and internal medicine. Over the summer, the office, which currently has 1,850 square feet, plans to expand to a second suite to add more specialties, including dermatology and urology. Dr. Matteo Dinolfo, medical director for the UCLA Department of Medicine’s community offices, said growth since entering the Valley has been “robust” as the health system has doubled its clinical faculty throughout his department since 2012. “UCLA has a great brand name, and I think when we establish multispecialty and primary care specialty, patients like to come to UCLA offices,” he explained. This is UCLA’s second facility in Burbank aside from its hematology, oncology and urology office, which just added a new infusion center. UCLA Health plans on opening two more Valley medical facilities in Woodland Hills and Encino later this year and has its sights on downtown and the South Bay as the next areas for expansion, Dinolfo said. Staff Reporter Stephanie Henkel can be reached at (818) 316-3130 or [email protected].

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