A St. David's HealthCare surgeon is the first in the world to perform a surgery using one of the newest robotic medical instruments that seals and cuts tissue and vessels without causing bleeding.

Dr. Nancy Marquez from the Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery and Capital Surgeons Group performed a gastric bypass using the da Vinci Xi EndoWrist Vessel Sealer at the end of June. The sealer is the newest instrument designed by the da Vinci robotic platform and is meant to be minimally invasive and provide access to anatomy that is typically inaccessible when using conventional laparoscopic instruments, according to St. David's.

"It's a new age for surgery," said Dr. Thomas Payne, medical director of the Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery. "[Computer] assistance is moving into the surgical science. It's like a whole paradigm shift."

He said generally robotic surgery allows surgeons to make smaller incisions. Other benefits include less pain, scarring and blood loss than more traditional surgeries and provides faster post-surgery recovery.

"None of the robotic platforms or instruments have minds of their own," Payne said. "They are all operated by the surgeon, so if a mistake is made, it is the surgeon's mistake, not the robot. They do have functions built in to help the surgeons be more confident in their ability to use the instrument."

Robotic platforms are used to assist in procedures for laparoscopies, bariatric surgeries and some benign gynecological procedures as well as other complex procedures for cancers in lungs, gastrointestinal systems and female reproductive tracts, he said.

The Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery opened its headquarters at St. David's North Austin Medical Center opened in 2011. Payne said the institute receives data from robotic surgery cases from about 100 hospitals throughout the U.S. to analyze data and find better and more efficient ways to perform robotic surgeries.

"We've worked really hard over the last three years since our inception to become one of the automatic places that the robotic companies think of to rollout new products after FDA approval," he said. "I think we've done a good job of establishing ourselves as that go-to place they think [of to come] to with new advancements in robotic platforms."

For more information, visit the website at www.texasrobotic.com.