Hospital demo of new surgical robotic equipment well-attended

North Big Horn Hospital’s staff surgeon Dr. Michael Hill introduced his new assistant “Eve” on Thursday. Eve is a da Vinci Xi state of the art robotic surgical assistant purchased by the hospital earlier this year. Hill said the equipment causes less trauma to the patient during surgery and allows them to recover more quickly and with less pain than previously used methods. Hill said the benefits of using robotics increase with the severity of the surgery.
A demonstration of the equipment that took place in the New Horizons Care Center multipurpose room attracted a good-sized group of curious onlookers of all ages. Attendees were given the opportunity to test drive the equipment themselves to experience the precision it gives surgeons during surgeries.
Seven-year-old Eliza Blau thought the equipment was pretty cool, though she said she had to stand on her “tippy toes” to use it. Onlooker Kathy Walker, who took her turn giving the equipment a test run, said the equipment was very smooth and very easy to use. She said she was surprised how easy it could pick up and manipulate very tiny objects. Care Center resident Doris DeGraw was so impressed that she asked Hill how she could leave money in her will to the robot, which brought chuckles from the crowd of more than 30 attendees.
Hill, who is specially trained to operate the equipment, has used it in about 165 surgeries he’s performed. About 40 of the surgeries have taken place at North Big Horn in the last five months since the equipment was acquired. He said about 40 percent of his patients come from the Lovell area. Approximately 60 percent come to him from other areas like Ten Sleep, Worland, Thermopolis, Cody and Powell for surgeries using the equipment.
A former patient of Hill’s came all the way from Glasgow, Montana, for surgery. Hill had performed surgery on the patient years ago when he worked in Billings. He said he continues to get referrals from other doctors in the Big Horn Basin and beyond.
He said the equipment, in many cases, allows for greatly improved recovery time for patients and, in these times, where opioid addiction has become such a concern, it reduced the amount of pain medication required after surgery to little or none.
In response to a question from an attendee, Hill said the equipment is so advanced that he doesn’t anticipate it will need to be replaced for many years.
 “It’s so advanced and so far ahead of its time that this robot should last me my whole career,” he said. “So, I’m hoping in the next 25 years I’ll be using this robot in my job.”
Hill said the staff named the equipment “Eve” because of the calm female voice the machine projects during surgeries, demonstrating the sound of the voice for those attending. The equipment is named after a character in the animated Disney Pixar movie “Wall-E.”
The waiting time for elective surgeries using this equipment is currently about six weeks. Hill said more urgent surgeries can be scheduled faster, depending on the circumstances.
He said most insurance companies pay for the service, because the outcomes are more cost effective than not using the equipment. The companies also recognize that the outcomes are so much better for patients, he said. In fact, he said he can’t think of a time in the seven years he’s been using robotics in his surgeries that an insurance company has refused to pay for surgeries using the equipment, including Medicare and Medicaid.
“Insurance companies are very big fans of robotic surgeries, because they know patients will recover faster and are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital,” Hill said.
Hill noted that using robotic equipment is far less stressful for the surgeon. He added that studies have shown that use of the equipment has extended the life of physicians by seven to eight years because it creates fewer demands on the body of the surgeon. It also expands the surgeon’s physical capabilities during surgery.
“It takes a surgeon with two arms and turns him into a surgeon with four arms,” Hill explained. “It’s an incredibly perfect assistant. The only thing it doesn’t do is give courtesy laughs to my stupid jokes.”
Hill said he can see extended uses in the future, including collaborating with other surgeons remotely. He said though patients were hesitant about the equipment at first, they actually request it now.
Hill said his goal is to have technology that is appropriate for the level of care patients need so they can get the care they need close to home.
 “I’m incredibly grateful to the hospital administration and the board who had the vision to recognize the tremendous benefit of this technology and how it can serve our community,” said Hill. “Now patients can get absolutely world class, top-notch care right here close to home.”