Providence Medford Medical Center has purchased computer-guided surgical equipment that will mean smaller incisions and shorter hospital stays for many patients.

The da Vinci surgical system will be beneficial for men who need prostate surgery and women who need gynecological procedures, said Tom Hanenburg, chief executive for the Providence Health System in Southern Oregon.

The machine looks a bit like half of a very high-tech octopus, with four arms projecting from a central core. The arms hold lights, cameras and tiny tools, some barely larger than the point of a pencil.

Physicians have used minimally invasive surgery for years, but the computer-assisted system marks a significant improvement. The laparascope (the lighted viewing instrument) provides true three-dimensional views inside the patient and the tools are much more maneuverable.

Instead of making a large opening in the body cavity, surgeons will make several small incisions and insert lights, cameras and tools. They'll sit at a computer station, guiding the tools by hand, using many of the same movements they would use in a traditional "open" surgery, while the camera gives them three-dimensional images from inside the patient's body.

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"I've been authorized to purchase lots of medical equipment in my career," Hanenburg said, "but this has the physicians really excited."

Providence brought the equipment to Medford in February for physicians to test. The hospital board recommended purchasing it after talking with physicians.

Hanenburg said the local Providence Community Health Foundation picked up the tab for the da Vinci system, which lists for about $1.6 million. It will be the only computer-assisted surgery equipment between Eugene and Redding.

Dr. Daniel Laury, a Medford gynecologist, said the new equipment is "the future of medicine."

"We're trying to do more and more minimally invasive surgery," Laury said, noting that small incisions mean a patient loses less blood and recovers more quickly.

He said the da Vinci unit would be especially useful for women who need surgery to treat fibroid growths in the uterus. Some women who would have had to undergo a complete hysterectomy may be able to keep their uterus.

Laury said the equipment also will be helpful when he performs a tubal reversal for a woman who previously had her tubes tied. "To put them back together laparoscopically would be a huge advantage."

Hanenburg said a committee will develop procedures for training physicians to use the equipment, and Providence should be able to offer it to patients after physicians have been formally trained and credentialed.

Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492 or e-mail bkettler@mailtribune.com.