Robotic surgery now available at UMMC Grenada
Surgeons at UMMC Grenada are now performing minimally invasive robotic surgeries, offering patients in north Mississippi access to advanced technology that reduces pain, shortens hospital stays and speeds recovery.
The hospital began using the da Vinci XI surgical robot in June, with Dr. Kimberly Sanford, obstetrician and gynecologist, performing the first procedures. Cynthia Cooper of Itta Bena was among the earliest patients to benefit from the new technology.
Cooper, a longtime teacher, had endured years of pain, clotting and heavy bleeding caused by fibroids. “I thought at my age, that would have slowed down. So, I knew something was wrong,” she said. “I was in so much pain that sometimes I couldn’t even leave my house.”
When Sanford recommended surgery, Cooper hesitated. “I was really nervous that there was something worse going on. I put off getting the biopsy,” she said. “But Dr. Sanford’s demeanor is so comforting. I knew she was going to take care of me.”
By the time her procedure date arrived, the da Vinci XI had just been installed at UMMC Grenada. Cooper became one of Sanford’s first robotic patients at the hospital. The difference in her recovery was remarkable.
“When I woke up, I asked my sister and daughter if they were sure they really did surgery on me because I wasn’t in any pain,” Cooper said. “I left the same day. I was a little bit sore around where they made the small incisions off and on for a couple of weeks, but that was it.”
Sanford explained that hysterectomies, especially when the uterus is enlarged with fibroids, are one of the most common procedures she performs with the robot.
“You can take down much larger specimens in a less invasive way,” she said. “The whole point of using minimally invasive surgery is to cause the least amount of morbidity—smaller incisions, less pain, and then also getting the patient home sooner and back to their life faster.”
The technology also improves precision. “Straight-stick laparoscopy was a very good surgery, but robotics took it to the next level with instrument articulation, 3D visualization and 10-times magnification,” Sanford said. “That’s priceless when you’re working in tight spaces or operating on patients who’ve had multiple C-sections and have scar tissue. It’s just a lot safer.”
At UMMC Grenada, Sanford is joined by OB-GYN Dr. Murry Adams, who also practices at the Greenwood Women’s Clinic, and general surgeon Dr. Alden Kirk in using the da Vinci XI. Both Sanford and Adams were previously performing robotic cases at UMMC’s main campus in Jackson but can now offer the same advanced care closer to home for their patients.
Sanford said she has been impressed with the Grenada operating room staff, who adapted quickly to the new technology. “I’ve been at three other sites with robotic-naïve staff, and it’s painful because usually there are only one or two excited and everybody else is dragging their feet,” she said. “When I tell you every person at Grenada got on board and learned it, you would think they’d been doing robots for years from the first day.”
The da Vinci XI represents the latest generation of a technology that has been used in operating rooms for more than 25 years. Once considered a passing fad, Sanford noted, robotics has proven its staying power. “Here we are, 25 plus years later, after four or five permutations of the tech, and it’s still here.”
For patients like Cooper, the benefits are clear. “Just as a comparison, someone like her would typically have to have a big incision like a C-section,” Sanford said. “She would still be feeling that and probably moving a lot slower. But she’s back in the classroom.”
Cooper said she is grateful to have received the care so close to home. “Dr. Sanford has been wonderful,” she said. “I’m thankful for her and for this new option at UMMC Grenada.”