Texas Health Dallas' robotic surgery program is revolutionizing women's healthcare
NORTH TEXAS – In April, Texas Health Dallas became one of the first healthcare systems in the world to adopt a new robotic system and has now been recognized with a prestigious accreditation for its program.
"It's a great tool, and it's really innovative," said Dr. Rachael Haverland, an OB-GYN at Texas Health Dallas who specializes in treating endometriosis.
She is one of more than 20 gynecologic surgeons trained to perform a variety of procedures, assisted by the da Vinci 5 robot, such as hysterectomies, fibroid removal, and endometriosis resection.
"The robot is not doing the surgery," said Dr. Haverland. "I am moving the arms. The robot doesn't do anything without us telling it what to do."
Dr. Haverland says using this technology reduces the risk of complications like blood loss and infection for patients.
"They can have this high-quality surgery and evidence-based care and ultimately see better outcomes, both with fertility and pelvic pain," Dr. Haverland said.
One of her patients, Sydney Booth, said the surgery changed her life. Booth, 36, is a hairstylist in Carrollton.
"I went from literally calling clients and having to cancel appointments because I just couldn't function because of the pain, to being able to stand and do my job all day again," she said.
Booth had dealt with chronic pain for decades. It took her years of visiting doctor after doctor to finally get a diagnosis of endometriosis.
"I was told for decades, for years, 'Oh, it's just a bad period, let's put you on birth control' or 'let's do this or let's do that,' which was never the answer," Booth said. "It was just a Band-Aid."
Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It affects one in ten girls and women and causes a variety of symptoms.
"These women, especially the ones that come to see me a lot of times, have been suffering for a while," Dr. Haverland said. "It usually takes about seven to 10 doctors and up to 10 years to get a true diagnosis for endometriosis, and so it is so neat that the hospital really advocated for us to have this resource for our patients, to allow us the time and the opportunity to be able to give them this option for treatment when it comes to surgery."
Booth wants other women to know there are better options, like this robotic-assisted surgery, to deal with the pain of endometriosis.
"Don't let a doctor brush you off and tell you it's okay, because it's not," Booth said.
So far, 566 robotic-assisted surgeries have been performed this year at Texas Health Dallas. In 2023, just over 600 procedures were completed.
The Women's Robotic Surgery program was recently awarded a prestigious accreditation as a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery by the Surgical Review Corporation (SRC). The SRC, a patient safety organization, provides accreditations for surgical facilities and medical professionals worldwide.