ROBOTIC SURGERY

ROBOT-ASSISTED MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURES. RAPID HEALING RESULTS.


When medication and non-invasive medical practices are unable to relieve symptoms, surgical procedure remains the accepted and most reliable treatment for a range of medical conditions.

Dr. Tim Wheeler is a skilled, board-certified surgeon in Ashland, who offers minimally invasive surgical treatment options, assisted by the latest state-of-the-art Robotic Surgical System

Dr. Wheeler is now robotically trained on the latest surgical techniques

In addition to having experience with open and laparoscopic surgical procedures, Dr. Wheeler is now recognized as being robotically trained with experience on the latest surgical robotic systems. These systems provide an advanced minimally invasive surgical platform to accomplish many of the procedures below in a manner that offers numerous advantages to the patient.

  • Smaller Incisions
  • Less Pain
  • Short Hospital Stay
  • Quicker Recovery Times
  • Faster return to work and normal activities

Robotic Procedures Available with Da Vinci

Colectomy

Each year thousands of surgeries are carried out in the United States to treat a number of colon and rectal diseases. Some of the conditions requiring surgery are colorectal cancer, diverticulitis, polyps, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and colonic dysmotility. Surgical treatment to remove all or part of the colon is called a colectomy. This can be done using either the laparoscopic approach or the robotic platform depending on the surgeon’s expertise. Enhanced recovery after surgery, ERAS, is rapidly becoming a standard way of managing patients perioperatively for colon surgery.

LAR

A Low Anterior Resection (LAR) is when the colon and rectum are resected to remove the diseased portion of the intestine. This procedure is common practice for patients with diverticulitis and colorectal cancer. Typically, once the diseased portion of the colon is removed, the remaining ends are sewn back together.

Ventral/Incisional Hernia

This type of hernia occurs when tissue pushes through an opening in the muscle layers of your abdomen. Heavy lifting, previous abdominal surgery, COPD, pregnancy, and congenital occurrences are just a few causes of these types of hernias. Patients may have symptoms that include abdominal pain or a bulge in the abdomen.

Inguinal Hernia

This type of hernia is extremely common with more than 3 million reported cases per year. These occur in the groin of a patient and occurs when tissue pushes through the fascial and muscular layers of the body. This hernia typically presents as a bulge in the groin area and may cause pain when coughing or bending over.

Nissen Fundoplication

This common procedure is often performed to treat Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and hiatal hernias. The fundus of the stomach is wrapped around the lower portion of the esophagus to help tighten that sphincter to decrease acid reflux.

Gallbladder

Gallbladder surgery is one of the most common general surgical procedures over the last hospital visits each year. The removal of the gallbladder is generally performed as a minimally invasive procedure. This can be done either as a laparoscopic cholecystectomy or a robotic cholecystectomy depending on the surgeon’s expertise. This procedure can now easily be done also through a 1 inch incision at the bellybutton. Robotic single site gallbladder surgery provides an excellent cosmetic result for this common surgical problem.