From left, Town of Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi, City of Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, CEO of Palmetto General Hospital Ana Mederos, Drs. Emery Salom, Gynecologist-Oncologist and Edward Gheiler, Urological Surgeon, showcase the da Vinci Surgical SI System to community leaders.
The three-dimensional, high-definition robotic platform allows surgeons to perform complex, minimally invasive surgery with a greater degree of precision than ever before possible and quicker recover time for patients. For now, Palmetto General will be offering robotic surgery for urological and gynecological and general surgery.
With the addition of the da Vinci®, Palmetto General became the first hospital in the Hialeah area and one of only a few in all of Miami-Dade County to have the da Vinci System®.
The hospital’s first robotic surgery using the new technology was done by Dr. Salom on a female cervical cancer patient. In just one procedure, he removed the patient’s uterus and cut out diseased pelvic lymph nodes to control her cancer from spreading. Dr. Salom said the use of this high-tech, minimally-invasive technology, greatly reduces hospital stays and recovery time. He said on average, a patient can the go back to work in half the time compared to more traditional surgical methods. There is less scarring and blood loss as well according to several clinical studies.
About Palmetto General Hospital
Palmetto General Hospital, part of Tenet's Miami-Dade/Broward Health Network, is a 360-bed acute-care hospital located at 2001 West 68th Street in Hialeah, Florida. The hospital has served the medical and health care needs of Northwest Miami-Dade and Southwest Broward counties for more than 30 years.
Palmetto General Hospital offers a broad range of services, including adult and pediatric emergency rooms, maternity, mental health, cancer center, hyperbaric, wound care, and sleep disorders center, a cardiac program that includes both medical and surgical services and a bariatric program that has been designated a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
Palmetto General Hospital is fully accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. The hospital is the Best-Rated Hospital in Miami-Dade County for Bariatric Surgery and ranks second in Florida and among the Top 5% in the Nation for Bariatric Surgery for two consecutive years in a row by HealthGrades, a health care quality rankings company. In addition it has earned a five-star rating and is among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for maternity care by HealthGrades.
The Hospital has also received 2009 American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines (GWTG) Gold Performance Achievement Award, 2009 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association – choose the "America’s Best Hospitals" issue (July 2009) – US News and World Report to recognize the Hospital’s for Achievements in Get With The Guidelines Programs. Palmetto General Hospital is also one of only 34 hospitals nationwide to earn Solucient's 100 Top Hospitals designation six or more times.