Advanced dV5 robot at St. Mary Medical Center promotes precision and improved patient outcomes
May 5, 2026Categories: Blog Posts
At St. Mary Medical Center, minimally-invasive procedures are now being completed with the brand new da Vinci 5 system—Intuitive’s most advanced robotic surgical technology to date. From colorectal and bariatric surgeries to prostatectomies and complex abdominal wall hernias, the dV5 allows for more precision and collaboration, resulting in better patient outcomes.
“Robotic surgery and the new dV5 allows surgeons to do very involved and complex operations through keyhole incisions, which have revolutionized both cancer surgery and regular surgery over the last 25 years,” says urologist Justin Harmon, DO, Chair of Robotic Surgery.
Like past da Vinci iterations, the dV5 gives surgeons 100 percent control over the robotic system, which they operate from a console located in the corner of the OR. The surgeon’s hand movements are replicated by miniscule instruments that complete small, precise movements inside the patient’s body.
But unlike those past systems, the dV5 offers more than 150 modern design innovations, including the most realistic 3D visualization, better ergonomics, communication capabilities, 10,000x more computing power to deliver helpful analytics and, for the first time, Force Feedback (FFB) technology. For the surgeons at St. Mary, all of this has been highly anticipated.
“With Force Feedback, surgeons can actually feel tissue and tension when they’re doing surgery. That’s something that surgeons have always wanted because part of surgery is being able to have a tactile feel. Now, you can do that with robotic instruments,” says bariatric/foregut surgeon Alfred Trang, MD. “In addition, it has telepresence, meaning the surgeon can send their surgery live to another surgeon for a consultation in real time.”
The dV5 offers more than 150 modern design innovations, including the most realistic 3D visualization, better ergonomics, communication capabilities, 10,000x more computing power to deliver helpful analytics and, for the first time, Force Feedback (FFB) technology.
At St. Mary Medical Center, the dV5 will be used for a wide range of procedures, including partial nephrectomies, radical prostatectomies, bladder cancer surgery, reconstructive surgeries to relieve blockages in the urinary tract, colorectal and bariatric surgeries, along with complex hernias. Dr. Trang will also utilize the dV5 to complete hiatal hernia surgeries, keeping St. Mary as the top center for this intervention thanks to its inventive techniques.
“With the dV5, we can do these surgeries with even more precision. It’s always about precision. When patients have bloodless surgery with great precision but also efficiency, their time under anesthesia is less. They have less pain. They have a much quicker recovery and overall, just do so much better,” says Dr. Trang.
The St. Mary surgical team is thrilled to house this innovative technology, which will only amplify the exceptional work that’s already being done by these Surgical Review Corporation-accredited Surgeons of Excellence.
“This is our third surgical robot. We have a very robust practice here. We offer multiple specialties that do robotics and, at this point, many of us have several decades of experience under our belt—which is a very important factor when you’re seeking surgical care,” says Dr. Harmon. “What excites me most about having this robotic system at St. Mary is it greatly expands our program.”