Significant advancements have been made in the field of surgery – especially through minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures. With MIS, patients experience smaller incisions and fewer postsurgical complications, reduced pain and blood loss, quicker recovery and shorter hospital stays.

UC Irvine Douglas Hospital houses one of the most advanced MIS centers in the nation at UC Irvine Medical Center, Orange County’s only university hospital. More than half of the hospital’s 15 state-of-the-art operating rooms (ORs) are specially designed to accommodate MIS procedures. These procedures include robot-assisted surgery, cardiovascular and endovascular procedures, orthopaedic and arthroscopic surgery as well as endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery.

The ORs are outfitted with equipment suspended compactly from electronically controlled ceiling booms as well as high-definition, flat-screen monitors. The monitors allow our surgeons to view highly magnified images of the patient’s anatomy during surgery, enhancing their ability to perform procedures through tiny incisions.

UC Irvine was the first medical center in Orange County to install the da Vinci® Surgical System, a robotic system that is regarded as the gold standard of MIS procedures. It is regularly used to treat patients with urological, gastroenterological, cardiothoracic, vascular and gynecological problems, among others. UC Irvine Douglas Hospital received the latest version of the da Vinci surgical robot in fall 2010.

From spinal surgeries and hysterectomies to mitral valve repairs, UC Irvine Healthcare surgeons perform the most advanced MIS procedures – making surgery safer, less invasive and more effective for patients.