South Arkansas Regional Hospital announces new addition

EL DORADO, Ark. (KTVE/KARD) — South Arkansas Regional Hospital is introducing a new Da Vinci 5 surgical robot. The robot is used to help aid surgeons during surgery. This addition shows the commitment of South Arkansas Regional Hospital to serve and improve the health of the community. KTVE/KARD spoke with the president Danna Taylor on why this addition was important.

The robot is the next step in minimally invasive surgery for patients. So, we knew it was what was best for the future of our community to keep patients from traveling, to recruit new doctors in the future. Just wanted to provide the quality care close to home

Danna Taylor

SARH is the first hospital in Southern Arkansas to acquire technology which reinforces them as the leader in health care innovation. The robot does specific things for surgeons. KTVE/KARD also spoke with General Surgeon Thomas Kennedy to find out what it does and how it will help.

Yeah so the robot is controlled by the surgeon in the room. And it allows to have more precise movements, better camera visualization, and a crisper image to enable us to do more precise surgery or even sometimes more difficult surgery. That otherwise we would not be capable.

Thomas Kennedy

The overall idea is to just continue to find new ways to take care of patients. The better the technology, the better surgery will be. But some may have doubts about a robot being involved in surgery at all. Thomas Kennedy tries to help calm the nerves of those who may be in doubt.

The robot itself does not do anything without the surgeon saying to do something. So I’m still in control of it the entire time. It does not move without me moving. It is not like an A.I. artificial intelligence type thing. This is really just fine tuning the movements that I do for the patient rather than anything outside of my control. The surgeon is always in control of the robot.

Thomas Kennedy