Advanced Technology Enables Bronson Surgeons to Perform Minimally Invasive Surgeries

Technology has and continues to change our lives in ways we couldn’t have imagined a generation ago. Advances in the world of surgery are no different.

David Bartholomew, MD
General Surgeon

Many surgeries that once involved large open incisions with long recoveries can now be performed in much less invasive ways. The smaller the incision, the less disruption to skin and muscle, which results in quicker recovery and less pain for the patient.

A traditional open surgery involves a large incision to allow the surgeon to see and perform the procedure. When laparoscopic surgery was introduced, surgery became minimally invasive requiring only small incisions for the surgeon to insert instruments inside the body.

With the advent of robotic surgery, the newest type of laparoscopic surgery, even fewer small incisions are necessary. In these procedures, the surgeon guides robotic surgical instruments using a high definition computer monitor. At Bronson, surgeons use the da Vinci® Surgical System to robotically move surgical instruments, mimicking the surgeon’s hand movements within a much smaller space. The tiny da Vinci® hands act just like the surgeon’s hands, but with an even greater range of motion.

Additionally, the da Vinci® Surgical System offers the surgeon a highly magnified, 3D high-definition view that would not be possible with the human eye. Due to the precision of the robot, many procedures that could not be done laparoscopically, due to complexity, can now be done using only small incisions. As a result, many patients go home the same day or the next rather than being in the hospital for days. Some of the most frequently performed procedures are gallbladder removal and hernia repair, but the da Vinci is also used in a large number of surgical specialties including:

• Cardiothoracic
• Colon & Rectal
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Orthopedics
• Urology

In general, minimally invasive surgery results in less blood loss during surgery, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker healing time for patients. Bronson Battle Creek has used the da Vinci® Surgical System since 2014. We are currently using the most advanced, third generation, da Vinci® XI Surgical System. Each advancement in robotic assisted surgery brings improvements that allow this minimally invasive type of surgery to be offered in more and different cases with more patients. Bronson is a leader in robotic surgery in Southwest Michigan and remains committed to staying on the forefront of surgical innovation.

In late 2018, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., creators of the da Vinci® Surgical System, recognized Bronson Battle Creek surgeons, Dr. David Bartholomew and Dr. Patrick Sweeney for their milestones in surgical procedures using the da Vinci® Surgical System. Dr. Bartholomew (left) for his 500th da Vinci® surgical procedure and Dr. Sweeney (right) for his 100th. Since their recognition from Intuitive Surgical, Inc. in 2018, Dr. Bartholomew has performed approximately 130 more surgeries and Dr. Sweeney nearly 40.

David Bartholomew, MD, is a board certified general surgeon at Bronson General Surgery Specialists in Battle Creek. As a general surgeon, he performs a number of surgeries and services including hernia repair, gallbladder surgery, surgery for reflux, colon and small bowel surgery, thyroid surgery, and more. Dr. Bartholomew can be reached at (269) 245-8310.