Over the decades, efforts at preventing disease have made great strides in improving health. Yet for many disorders, traumas and other conditions, surgery still offers the best treatment option. And in recent years, advances in technologies and techniques have made surgery safer, less invasive and more effective than ever before.
Advanced services, team approach
As the only university hospital in Orange County, UC Irvine Medical Center provides the full spectrum of advanced surgical services, many of which are not available elsewhere in the region. Our medical center includes the county's only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I trauma center and regional burn center, and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
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Minimally invasive and robotic procedures
Our surgeons are skilled in many minimally invasive surgical techniques such as laparoscopy. In this procedure, a miniature video camera and illumination source are passed through a small “keyhole” incision in the body. Tiny surgical instruments of various kinds are guided through these small incisions as well. The surgeon operates while watching magnified images displayed on an operating room monitor.
Laparoscopic procedures are performed for many common operations such as gallbladder removal and bariatric (weight loss) surgery, eliminating the need for large incisions. Advantages of minimally invasive procedures include less pain, shorter hospital stays, reduced blood loss and a faster return to normal activities.
For certain procedures, the robot-assisted da Vinci® Surgical System is used. This innovative system provides our surgeons with unparalleled precision and 3-D real-time images during complex and delicate operations. At UC Irvine Medical Center, the da Vinci system is regularly used for minimally invasive procedures, offering the best possible results for patients with urological, gastroenterological, cardiothoracic, vascular and gynecological problems, among others.
Other minimally invasive procedures available at the medical center include endovascular surgery, in which miniature instruments and devices are threaded through blood vessels to open clogged arteries (angioplasty), reinforce weakened areas (stent grafting) and destroy unwanted tissues.
