Robot-assisted surgery comes to Virtua Memorial
Burlington County Times
(5/28/10)
By Rose Krebs Kathy Janeczko of Pemberton Township is thrilled her quality of life has improved, and she has doctors at Virtua Memorial and a robot to thank.
Janeczko, 47, had been suffering from heavy menstrual bleeding for many years.
“I had extremely excessive heavy bleeding, almost where I was off my feet for two to three days a month,” Janeczko said.
A married mother of two and grandmother of two, she couldn’t continue living like she was, especially since she is an Army Reserve supply sergeant who is preparing to deploy to Iraq in January. She was tired of days on the couch, suffering with her symptoms.
In September, Janeczko started weighing her options and was told about Virtua’s plans to roll out robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery.
Advertisement “I didn’t know anything about it,” she said. Once it was explained to her, she signed on.
Her robot-assisted hysterectomy Dec. 10 was the first such procedure performed at Virtua. To date, about 70 gynecological procedures and prostatectomies have been performed, according to Cheryl Tilton, operating room nursing director at Virtua Memorial.
Plans are to start performing thoracic and colorectal robot-assisted procedures at Virtua soon, said Catherine Korn, administrative director for surgical services. Doctors must first undergo training to use the robot.