St. Cloud Hospital welcomes 2nd da Vinci surgery robot
by Terry Lee, WJON.com

ST. CLOUD -- St. Cloud Hospital now has a second da Vinci SI Surgical System to help assist doctors with less invasive surgeries.

The new robotic da Vinci is an upgraded model that offers high-definition 3-D vision with 10 times magnification.

Care Center Director of Para-Operative Services at St. Cloud Hospital Phil Luitjens says there are less than 100 of these units across the country.

The new unit allows the hospital to care for people with more complex cases. Like kidney, bladder and pelvic floor reconstruction cases, and minimally invasive hysterectomies.

Since 2005, the first da Vinci SI Surgical System assisted in more than 550 surgeries.

The new machine will cut down on recovery time, lower the risk of infection, have less scaring, and a patient will have a shorter stay at the hospital.