Spectrum Health Physicians to Speak About da Vinci Robotic Surgery

Part of “Bodies Revealed” at GR Public Museum

Several physicians who use the da Vinci® Surgical System at Spectrum Health will speak this month as part of the Bodies Revealed exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

The museum’s “Topics in Health Care” lecture series will be held several evenings and Saturday afternoons throughout February. Lectures are free; however, attendees must purchase a general admission ticket to the museum or to the Bodies Revealed exhibit.

Spectrum Health physicians include:

Brian Lane, MD – Spectrum Health Medical Group, Urology
Tuesday, February 15, at 7 p.m.

Diana Bitner, MD – Spectrum Health Medical Group, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Thursday, February 17, at 7 p.m.

Donald Kim, MD – Spectrum Health Medical Group, Colorectal Surgery
Friday, February 18, at 7 p.m.

Edward Murphy, MD – West Michigan Cardiothoracic Surgeons
Saturday, February 19, 1 p.m.

A complete schedule is available at www.grmuseum.org.

To operate the da Vinci® Surgical System, a surgeon sits at a console just a few feet away from the patient. The surgeon uses a high-powered camera to guide the arms of the robot, which holds surgical tools that are inserted into the patient through small, keyhole-sized incisions. The robot’s highly accurate instruments allow the surgeon to move his or her own hands-and the robot’s-to conduct precise movements with extraordinary control and range of motion. Visitors to the museum will be able to sit at the console and manipulate the robot’s arms just as a surgeon in an operating room would. The robot will be on display from February 15 to February 19 in the museum’s galleria.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, nine hospitals and more than 170 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups with more than 600 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 600,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,700 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,350 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $115.9 million in community benefit during its 2010 fiscal year. In 2010, Spectrum Health was named a Top 10 Health System by Thomson Reuters.