The Oktibbeha County Hospital last week hosted an open house to showcase one of the newest additions to the surgical staff and his name is Jack.

Jack is not the fresh recruit’s real name, of course.

A robot, Jack is the da Vinci SI Surgical System. OCH began using the highly touted surgical machine in November of last year, first with urological surgeries and then with gynecological surgeries. During the six-month period since, OCH has completed over 50 procedures using the state-of-the-art instrument.

The da Vinci Surgical System is made up of three large pieces of machinery. The first is a control station, where surgeons sit and look through binocular-like holes to a three dimension, high definition screen that gives them a vivid, real-time image of the isolated area that a naked eye could never match. The surgeon controls the robot with two joysticks, complete with slots for index fingers and thumbs.

The second piece is four-armed surgical robot. Consisting of three instrument arms that come in direct contact with patients and a laparoscope arm that allows the surgeon to observe moves being made, the machine stands at nearly six feet tall.

The final piece is a elevated high definition monitor, so other physicians in the surgery room can watch operations.

Dr. Thomas Pearson, one of the founding partners of the Starkville Clinic for Women, said the advantages of the system cross surgical department barriers.

“For the patient, since all of the procedures are much less invasive, the recovery time is significantly decreased and, from what I have experienced, much less painful afterwards,” Pearson said. “For the doctors, with the unbelievably enhanced vision and the instruments that move with a flick of the wrist, it really is unbeatable.”

Dr. Kenneth Thomas, a urological surgeon at OCH, said, because of the camera’s 10x magnification, he and other surgeons have avoided major problems that plagued urological surgeries in the past.

“Because of this increased magnification and clarity, I can see things that previously in our profession we could not see,” he said. “For example, during a prostate cancer surgery, I can see the nerves connected to the erectile tissue and stay clear of it. The guys are definitely happy about this.”

Anyone attending the open house was given the opportunity to try out the high-tech system, which Thomas said is surprisingly easy to use.

“It doesn’t take long to understand the machine. Anyone with basic motor skills can operate it and with some short practice, operate it well,” he said.

At the open house, more than twenty people sat down to the $1.5 million machine and attempted to navigate a tiny obstacle course, removing small rubber bands from curved rubber cones.

Following a three-week contest to choose a name for the new machine, Barrett Gregg’s choice, Jack, was revealed Thursday as the winner.

Before the announcement, 5-year-old Barrett, from Maben, stood in front of the machine for nearly ten minutes, watching the agile robotic arms move up and down, back and forth. The blond, curly haired child looked delighted when he was presented with a promotional poster printed with the name he had chosen.

Barrett’s mom, Lynn Gregg, who works in the emergency room at OCH, said she would have no problem with a surgeon using Jack to operate on her.

“The doctors can just simply perform surgeries better. The risk of infection is decreased. Pain is decreased. Even blood loss during surgery is decreased,” Gregg said. “I think this is going to be and really already has been a huge asset for our hospital. Just looking at the thing is impressive.”

Dorsey Hardeman, a clinical sales representative from Intuitive, which produces the da Vinci machines, was present to answer questions about the machines.

Hardeman said prior to Jack’s arrival in Starkville, patients would have needed to drive as far as Jackson to find a hospital with a machine like Jack.

“At this point we have about 30 da Vinci Surgical Systems throughout the state, but this is one of the few hospitals, in this area, with this kind of technology,” Hardeman said.

OCH currently is only using the robot for gynecological and urological surgeries, but Thomas said the hospital hopes to start using the machine in general surgeries, as well.

“It’s the same surgeries we have done for years, the only difference is we are using a different tool to get the job done,” he said. “The uses for the system are almost limitless. It’s really just about finding new ways to incorporate it.”