Area’s First da Vinci Surgeries Performed at Fuld

The area’s first surgery with the da Vinci® Surgical System was performed at Capital Health .

Dr. Scott Eder, a board certified OB/GYN, performed a complex, minimally invasive hysterectomy through an incision roughly the size of a dime using the only da Vinci available in Mercer County.

“The da Vinci offers patients less risk of infection, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery and return to normal daily activities, and less scarring than traditional surgery and procedures,” Eder said.

Located at the Capital Health Fuld Campus, the da Vinci allows surgeons to operate while seated comfortably at a console viewing a 3D image of the surgical field. The system seamlessly translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient.

In addition to gynecological procedures, the da Vinci will also be used initially to perform a complex minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of prostate cancer called prostatectomy. About one week after the first hysterectomy, Dr. Jarad Fingerman, a board certified urologist in Lawrenceville, performed the area’s first prostatectomy using the da Vinci.

“In addition to the overall benefits to patients from minimally invasive surgery, recent clinical studies have shown that da Vinci prostatectomy may offer improved cancer control and faster return to potency and continence,” Fingerman said.

“This is extremely important as we find that men often delay getting screened for prostate cancer because of their fear of the side effects of treatment.”

“Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting one in six men,” said Dr. Robert Remstein, vice president of Medical Affairs. “With the recent additions of the da Vinci and the CyberKnife Radiosurgery System, Capital Health offers prostate cancer patients the most comprehensive treatment offerings available in Central Jersey.”

Remstein noted that the prostate cancer treatment portfolio at Capital Health also includes brachytherapy, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), and CyberKnife Radiosurgery.

Announced just last year, the CyberKnife® Center at Capital Health is the only hospital in Central New Jersey and the closest center east of Havertown, Pa. to offer CyberKnife radiosurgery, the world’s most accurate radiosurgery device that allows physicians to treat tumors and lesions in the brain, spine, lung, pancreas, liver and prostate with submillimeter accuracy. Used as a noninvasive alternative to conventional surgery in cancer patients as well as other medical conditions, CyberKnife ensures the most accurate targeting of tumors, allowing for less trauma to healthy tissue and quicker recovery time for patients.

“Our promise to the community is to provide the most state-of-the-art technology and make the latest medical treatments available to residents in our region,” said Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health.

“From the addition of the CyberKnife to the latest addition of the da Vinci, we’re proud to support this statement by staying on the ‘cutting edge’ of medical technology.”

To learn more about the state-of-the-art prostate cancer treatments available at Capital Health, call 609-394-4255.