BONIFAY, Fla. (WMBB) — The Doctors Memorial Hospital has welcomed home a new piece of equipment that will give patients more options when seeking medical treatments for certain medical conditions.
Doctors Memorial Hospital Physician CEO, Huy Nguyen, said the new Da Vinci robotic surgical system will prevent patients from having to drive 30 to 40 miles for specific procedures. He said they can now have them done closer to home.
“Whereas now, you can have the same procedure done here and get the same outcome and experience that you would having to trek 30, 40 miles,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said after the sales tax passed in the 2020 election to help pay for the hospital, he said purchasing this machine was meeting the commitment to serve the community.
“If folks are going to help subsidize this hospital, we simply did not take the surtax revenue and sat on our butt,” Nguyen said.
Dr. John Thomas, a general surgeon at Doctors Memorial Hospital, will be preforming a majority of the procedures done with the Da Vinci surgical system. He said this is a huge asset for the community.
“Not unlike a lot of communities, there are a large number of patients that have hernias, colon problems, including cancer, reflux problems, and all kinds of other abdominal issues that this machine will be able to address in a more efficient and better manner,” Thomas said.
Thomas said the machine will give patients less time in recovery and will also provide a lower rate of infection compared to other surgical methods.
