By Jess Hickerson, MD

In 1985 when I first moved to Corvallis to begin the practice of obstetrics and gynecology, I had no idea what the ensuing 25 years would hold. Like most physicians fresh out of residency anxious to put into practice all that I had learned, I felt ready to tackle almost anything. One comes out of their training armed with all the latest medical evidence and surgical skills, processing a confidence borne of countless hours of studying, training, training and training some more. Specific treatments and interventions were ingrained to the point that knowing how to respond had become second nature. With time, all physicians come to the point where their education is as much “who they are” as “what they learned.”  

But medicine is also about staying current. The training really never ends. Illnesses may look the same but our understanding of them has deepened and our treatments have become more focused and sophisticated. Yesterday’s technologic wizardry is today’s common everyday tool box. Who would have thought two decades ago that most of the surgery I do would be performed while looking at a T.V. monitor instead of a patient? With the emergence of laparoscopic procedures, patients who stayed in the hospital for three to five days after their surgery now go home the day after and sometimes the day of their major procedure. But even this is changing.  

The next step in minimally invasive surgery has arrived in the mid-valley. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery is now here. On Jan. 13, 2010, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center officially began its robotics program. Over a dozen procedures have now been performed with robotic assistance and many more are to come. What will be the advantages? Lower infection rates, less blood loss, shorter recovery times, less post operative discomfort, quicker return to work, play and life in general. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery affords increased instrument precision, improved visualization and less physical trauma than open surgery or even similar conventional minimally invasive procedures. Where will we be in another 25 years? I can only imagine!