GABRIELLA BIEDINGER - HER LIFE Magazine

herlife | spotlightLodi Healthby ann e. butenas | photos by bre baszlerLodi Memorial Hospital has come a long way since it firstopened its doors in 1952, and this year is shaping up tobe one of its best years yet! This private, not-for-profithospital is growing by leaps and bounds with respect tothe services it offers the City of Lodi and the surroundingcommunities, holding true to its original mission of providing the bestin quality services and personal care.Effective this year, Lodi Memorial Hospital will change its nameto Lodi Health, which is owned by the non-profit Lodi MemorialHospital Association. Even though its name has changed, its commitmentto providing quality medical care via best-practice medicine andsophisticated technology, education and support services remains infull effect.According to Carol Farron, community development director,significant changes are coming to Lodi Health in 2013, and one of themost exciting comes in the form of available advanced technologieswith overall patient care in mind, most specifically, robotic technology.Over the years, Lodi Health has consistently invested in advancedtechnologies to provide the best care for its patients, and the recentacquisition of robotic-assisted surgeries is indicative of their commitmentto that end.Lodi Health remains on the leading edge of such innovations, andin November of 2012 became the first in the county to offer roboticassistedtechnology for use in general surgical procedures, such asurological, gynecological and general surgeries. With exciting 3-Dcapabilities, the surgeon can perform less-invasive procedures withfar more precision and accuracy. For the patient, this translates to lessscarring and better outcomes.“Bear in mind these robots do not actually perform the surgeriesbut are merely designed to assist the surgeons by providing greatercontrol and precision, even in the most intricate of surgeries,” notedCarol. “Several of our surgeons are currently using this technologywith tremendous results.”In fact, the robotic arms can actually filter minute tremors ofthe human hand, allowing for a greater degree of steadiness. “Thedoctors look at images in their viewfinders and on screens to see everythingfrom a 3-D perspective, giving the same effect as if they wereactually in the body, but they are doing so with teeny, tiny incisions ina very precise fashion,” explained Carol.Through the use of robotic-assisted surgeries, patients will experienceminimal pain, enjoy faster recovery times, decreased hospitalstays, less blood loss, reduced risk of infection, less anesthesia and aquicker return to normal daily activities.To put this in perspective, the long-standing procedure of a hys-16 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM