Robotic weight-loss surgery gives grandmother a fresh start

At 53, Racquel Avery is a devoted mother of five and grandmother of 11 in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. She and her husband, Ronald, love doting on family and doing everything they can to provide them the best lives possible.

At the same time, she has battled health issues that just weren’t getting any better. That’s when her doctor recommended a weight-loss specialist to help her lose weight and improve her overall health. Avery prayed about the decision and scheduled an appointment a few days later.

“I’ve spent my entire life taking care of other people, and I need to do this procedure for me,” she said. “It is important for me to watch my grandchildren grow up, earn their education and graduate from college.”

On Oct. 1, she was the first person in the state to have her bariatric procedure performed with the new da Vinci 5 Surgical System at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. It’s part of Novant Health’s commitment to patient-first innovation. This technology for minimally invasive surgery uses smaller incisions, causes less discomfort and leads to faster recovery times.

It’s OK to ask for help

Avery left Philadelphia and moved to the mountainous region of Stokes County 20 years ago. She was attracted to the slower pace of life and thought it would be a good place to raise her children. But eventually, she developed several health issues that could all be traced back to one thing – her weight.

Obesity is a serious chronic disease that impacts more than 40% of adults in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. It can also lead to other risk factors. For example, 58% of adults with obesity have high blood pressure.

“I’ve never been an overeater,” said Avery. “But I knew I wasn’t eating the right things. At first, I tried to lose the weight on my own, but I realized I needed help and that it is OK to ask for it.”

Dr. Stephen Hux (now retired), from Novant Health Arcadia Family Medicine, recommended that Avery schedule an appointment at Novant Health Salem Surgical Associates - Clemmons. There, she met Dr. Joshua Rickey, a bariatric surgeon.

A shared goal

While many patients think of weight-loss surgery in terms of looking slimmer, Rickey said he doesn’t have a weight-loss number in mind for Avery. Rather, he’s focused on helping her accomplish her personal long-term goal to lead a healthier life.

This process started several months ago in the clinic. Avery met with a registered dietitian, who carefully explained how she should start to make changes to her eating and exercise habits.

“Even the most advanced surgery is not a magic cure for weight loss,” Rickey said. “But I’m confident that all of the instruction and evaluation she has gone through before this procedure has really set her up for success.”

The procedure is designed to shrink the size of the patient’s upper stomach to a small pouch – the size of an egg – to reduce the volume of food the stomach can hold. Patients who have this procedure feel full after eating smaller portions.

While the da Vinci 5 is new, robotics at Novant Health is not. In fact, Novant Health has offered the latest in da Vinci surgical capability for the last 20 years and has completed more than 80,000 procedures across Novant Health.

But it’s important to note that the term “robot” can be misleading. Robots don’t perform the surgery. They’re actually complex machines operated by highly skilled surgeons.

“We continue to invest in robotics because it leads to better outcomes for our patients,” said Rickey. “The da Vinci 5 not only offers improved visualization, but also offers a brand-new tactile feel capability. This will allow us to perform safer surgeries with gentler handling of tissue, thereby decreasing post-op pain and lowering the risk of complications.”

Avery shared that she was not nervous about the procedure. In fact, she was looking forward to it. She said that she’d researched it for a year and feels “blessed” that she got to be the first to benefit from the new robot.

By the way, grandchild number 12 will be here in January. Avery can’t wait.

Robotically assisted weight-loss surgery and the da Vinci system

Robotic-assisted surgery got its start as a proposed method for surgeons to operate on the battlefield without being there. Over the last 25 years, the technology has evolved to enhance minimally invasive surgery across a number of surgical specialties including: bariatrics, colorectal, ear nose and throat, gynecology, oncology, urology and acute surgery.

The da Vinci Surgical System is equipped with four interactive arms moved by a surgeon using a remote console. With robotic surgery, the surgeon is no longer at the patient’s bedside, but rather at a workstation in the operating room, looking at a monitor and maneuvering foot pedals and hand controllers to direct the mechanical arms. The da Vinci 5 surgical system also allows the surgeon to have a sense of tactile feel during the procedure, allowing for the surgeon to gauge pressure and perform a softer surgery. The result: Improved outcomes for the patient. Most patients experience less pain and scarring, less risk of infection and a quicker recovery time than traditional surgery.

Novant Health is proud to offer da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery at 18 medical campuses across both North and South Carolina. Outside of Forsyth Medical Center, which was recently accredited as a bariatric surgery center of excellence, the da Vinci 5 is now also available at Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte, Novant Health Matthews Medical Center and Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.