A surgeon skilled in robotics is using his passion and experience to help Beatrice Community Hospital build a robotics program that offers new surgical options for patients close to home.
Dr. Brad Olberding of General Surgery Associates of Lincoln completed the first robotic surgery at BCH on Dec. 16, 2021.
“I find one of the most rewarding parts of my career is doing outreach in the smaller communities surrounding Lincoln,” Olberding said. “Patients are so appreciative when they can stay close to home when going through a stressful experience like a surgery can be.
“I have also found the hospital staff at these facilities have all the education, experience and desire to treat these patients as I do, and found BCH to be no exception to this rule,” Olberding said. “The facility is state-of-the-art and the staff is exceptional. To no surprise, when I mentioned starting a robotics program, they were eager to accept the challenge.”
Olberding started coming to BCH six months ago when the hospital’s full-time general surgeon retired.
Bonnie Riekenberg, surgical services supervisor at the hospital, said she was excited and pleased about how successful the process has been.
“The first day of robotic surgery at BCH went very well,” Riekenberg said. “Dr. Olberding and the staff were all very excited and cases went smoothly. As we continue to do robotic cases the level of expertise continues to improve among the robotics team.”
For the patient, Olberding said robotic surgery offers a new option for care.
“Simply put, the robotics platform allows more types of operations to be performed in a minimally invasive fashion,” Olberding said. “Procedures that could only be done with a large incision, can now be done through small incisions. Even surgeries that could be done through small incisions without the robot can now be done easier and with less trauma with the robot which leads to better outcomes.”
For the surgeon, Olberding said robotic surgery provides 3D visualization, better ergonomics and superior dexterity.
“Standard laparoscopic surgery is like trying to tie your shoes without bending your wrists,” Olberding said. “It can be done, but difficult. Robotics gives back my wrists. We have found that it improves nearly every measurable surgical parameter. Patients have fewer complications, less pain, better cosmetics, and go home sooner.”
Olberding began performing robotic surgeries in 2014 and believes robotic surgery will be commonplace within the next decade. Early in his career he performed about 40 percent of his cases robotically. Today, nearly 90 percent of his cases are robotic, including hernia, colon, intestinal, and cancer surgeries.
“As far as towns this size that are taking on the robot there are a few out there, but really just a handful so far,” Olberding said. “So Beatrice really is at the front of that movement of the robot. I think you’ll see every hospital that does surgery will have a robot in the next 10 years.”
BCH implemented the da Vinci Xi robotic system which has three components: a surgeon console, a robot with four working arms, and a vision cart. The surgeon sits at the console to see a 3D magnified view of the operating field and uses special controls to move the instruments attached to the robot during surgery.
The robot is positioned next to the patient in the operating room and holds the camera and instruments, while the surgeon controls it from a console.
A vision cart makes communication between the components possible and supports the high-definition vision system.
In addition to the robot, the BCH surgery rooms have been updated with 4K (ultra high definition) surgical visualization and intraoperative imaging, using 27-inch monitors to provide everyone optimal viewing of the surgery.
Currently, robotic surgeries at BCH are being used for hernia repair, gallbladder removal, colon resection and appendectomies. More types of surgeries are expected to be added in the future. Dr. Olberding’s partner, Dr. John Fallick, has also begun doing robotic surgeries at BCH.
“It really is exciting to do these types of operations,” Olberding said. “These are cases that even five years ago I only did in an open fashion and now I don’t know a single case that I cannot perform with a robot; which means every single type of case I do nowadays could be done in a minimally invasive fashion which means patients feel better, they go home sooner, less pain, better outcomes across the board.”
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