Providing care, close to home, with great outcomes and state-of-the-art technology is essential to improving local healthcare access and affordability.
Tom Dee, CEO & president of SVMCSouthwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, has acquired the first da Vinci 5 surgical robot in the state of Vermont, bringing world-class, innovative technology to its surgical program.
The da Vinci 5 surgical platform by Intuitive will be used in hundreds of minimally invasive surgeries each year. Prior to conducting their first surgeries with the da Vinci 5, SVMC hosted a demonstration day on October 24.
“Providing care, close to home, with great outcomes and state-of-the-art technology is essential to improving local healthcare access and affordability,” said Tom Dee, CEO & president of SVMC. “This also helps us to recruit surgeons who are being trained on this technology and want to come to a hospital and health system with advanced expertise and equipment”
The da Vinci 5 will be used in general surgeries like gallbladder removal, hernia and colon surgery. It can also be used for gynecological and urological surgeries. The investment was made through the support of Dartmouth Health of which SVMC is a member. Rather than make a capital investment in the new da Vinci 5 system, the robot is set up on a “pay-per-click” contract.
Seth Bernard, DO, is SVMC’s first surgeon to use the da Vinci 5 system. He performed surgeries using similar robotic systems during his residency.
“Bringing this type of technology to the community allows people to stay here,” said Bernard. “The last thing we want for our patients and the community is that they have to travel for a procedure. This allows them to stay local, heal quicker and go home sooner.”
The da Vinci 5 system provides the precision and visibility needed to take on more complex procedures via remotely operated surgical tools that are inserted through small incisions in the patient. Benefits of robotic surgery include shorter post-surgery hospital stays, faster recovery times, lower likelihood of complications and less need for opioid painkillers. The latest system also provides surgeons with “force feedback,” so they can feel the push and pull exerted on tissue during surgery, allowing for an even more gentle and precise surgery. Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, acquired a da Vinci 5 in 2024.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.