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Test Your Surgical Skills with BRG’s Advanced Robotics Institute

BATON ROUGE, La. – Baton Rouge General’s Advanced Robotics Institute is bringing the operating room to the community on Friday, Nov. 19 for an interactive experience with its full family of robots. For the first time, all three types of robots -- DaVinci, Mako and Monarch -- will be in one place, alongside industry-leading surgeons. The on-site demonstrations will take place from 7-11 a.m., and visitors will have the chance to take an inside look in the lungs, help with a simulated knee replacement, and more.

“We continue to raise the bar and bring the best technology to our patients, giving them more robotic-assisted surgical options and the highest caliber physicians close to home,” said Edgardo Tenreiro, CEO of Baton Rouge General. “This means better outcomes and faster recovery for those who need surgery.”

Robotic surgery, or robotic assisted surgery, is minimally invasive with the surgeon using robotic instruments to perform the surgery. The greatest benefit of robotic surgery is the use of smaller incisions compared to incisions made in traditional, open surgery. Smaller incisions mean most patients will have less pain, less blood loss and fewer inches of incision to heal. They also typically have shorter hospital stays and faster recovery time.

BRG has four da Vinci robots in all, and surgery cases using them have grown by 70% over the last year. The da Vinci robotic surgery system is used for many types of general surgery, and for a host of specialties including cardiothoracic, gastroenterology, oncology, urology, and gynecology. They allow the surgeon’s hand movements to be translated into smaller, precise movements of tiny instruments inside the patient’s body. A small camera sends images to a video monitor that gives the surgeon a 3D high-definition view of the procedure.

Used to view the inside of the lungs and obtain a tissue sample for biopsy, the Monarch robot gives surgeons the ability to detect cancer in small and hard-to-reach lung nodules. BRG is among the first hospitals in the United States – and the first in Louisiana -- to use Monarch, which was recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The newest robot for BRG, the Monarch arrived in October, and the first surgery using it was performed this week.

BRG was the first in Baton Rouge to offer the Mako robotic-arm assisted system, which allows the surgeon to customize a patient’s knee replacement by creating a 3D model of the knee used as a guide during the procedure. This less invasive technique gives the surgeon more precision while giving patients a smaller incision and faster recovery time.

The demonstrations will take place in the atrium at the Bluebonnet campus at 8585 Picardy Ave., near the Main Entrance. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with over 600 licensed beds between three campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General is affiliated with several medical school programs, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter @BRGeneral and Instagram @batonrougegeneral.

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