Bangkok Hospital's Million Dollar Machine Making Patients' Heart's Beat Again

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec 30, 2008 -
Bangkok Hospital recently acquired one of the sought-after da Vinci surgical system machines for minimally invasive heart surgery, providing many benefits to surgeons, hospital staff and patients.

The da Vinci surgical system is a robotic system to filter, scale and then translate a surgeon's hand movements into micro-movements of surgical instruments. This means that the restrictions of human movement can be broken through to allow heart surgery to be less invasive and more accurate than ever before. The system has achieved clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Some of the benefits of the da Vinci surgical system recently acquired by Bangkok Hospital include:
•   A shorter hospital stay for patients and faster outpatient recovery times
•   Decreased postoperative pain
•   Improved cosmetic outcomes
•   Less blood loss and infection risk
•   For surgeons, greater accuracy and confidence
•   For hospitals, necessary surgery staff levels are lower

The system can cost around $1.5 million US dollars, making it out of reach of most Thai facilities. Bangkok Hospital is one of only 210 hospitals worldwide to have one of the cutting-edge machines.

Dr. Kitipan Visudharom, the director of the Heart Hosptial, sees the machine's acquisition as a natural part of the hospital's strategy: "We strongly believe that minimally invasive procedures are the way of the future. Yes, the da Vinci machine does represent a significant investment in infrastructure, but really we could not have gone without it."

Dr. Sujit Banyatpiyaphod is a vascular surgeon at Bangkok Hospital, and cannot wait to start working on the new da Vinci machine. "You often feel so limited by your hands as a surgeon. The da Vinci machine has so much potential, the potential of the human and the machine will combine to make a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts."

The system will be interoperable with either on-pump or off-pump coronary surgery. It can be used for mitral valve repair or replacement, ASD closure, and Bilateral IMA harvesting, among other procedures.

About Bangkok Hospital Medical Center:

Bangkok Hospital Medical Center (BMC) is one of the most technologically sophisticated hospitals in the world today. Located in Bangkok, Thailand, BMC is an expansive state-of-the-art medical campus providing comprehensive medical care through multidisciplinary teams of highly trained specialists. With its four hospitals and broad range of specialized clinics, BMC is equipped with all of the diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. The center has received Joint Commission International accreditation and is known throughout the world for delivering world-class, award-winning healthcare.

For more information contact Chris E-Marketing Manager, Bangkok Hospital Medical Center.
Email: info@bangkokhospital.com