
Memorial Medical Director of Robotic Surgery Dr. D. Champ Weeks, Urologic Surgeon
Surgeons at Memorial Hospital are using the most advanced surgical platform on the market to perform complex procedures with fewer complications and less recovery time. The first surgical case using the da Vinci® Si High Definition Robotic Assisted Specialty Surgery System was performed at Memorial on April 14, 2010. As of March 2011, surgeons at Memorial had completed well over 130 robotic assisted minimally invasive procedures. These cases have included the removal of the gall bladder, spleen, uterus, ovary, ovarian cyst, prostate, bladder and kidney, as well as kidney reconstruction. Benefits to the patient include less pain, smaller incisions, fewer complications, less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery and less scarring.
Urologic Surgeon D. Champ Weeks, MD, FACS, serves as the Medical Director of Robotic Surgery at Memorial. With over 400 robotic surgeries performed, Dr. Weeks is one of the most experienced robotic surgeons in the Gulf Coast area. In March 2010, he joined Dr. Thad Carter, Dr. Craig Dawkins and Dr. Paige White at Coast Urology Center in Gulfport.
Dr. Weeks completed his surgical internship and urologic residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., after having received his medical degree from the Medical University of South
Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Biomechanics from Georgia State University.
Memorial Hospital has General Surgeons, Urologists, and OB/GYNs currently credentialed to perform robotic assisted surgery, including Dr. Kristine Carter, General Surgeon; Dr. Don Gaddy, Gynecologist; Dr. Shahira Hanna, Gynecologist; Dr. Mike McKay, Gynecologist; Dr. Joanna Trus, Gynecologist and Dr. D. Champ Weeks, Urologic Surgeon.
With the new technology, surgeons maneuver tiny surgical instruments guided by 3-D visualization with 10x magnification through incisions the size of a dime. The da Vinci’s four robotic arms and hands swivel 540 degrees, unlike the human wrist.
During a procedure, the surgeon makes a few small incisions to insert the robotic arms. One arm holds a high definition camera while the other three arms hold very small surgical instruments with dexterity,
precision, and range of motion far greater than that of the human hand. At a console a few feet from the patient, the surgeon performs the operation with the robotic device replicating the surgeon’s movements.
“This technology is yet another example that Memorial Hospital is committed to practice state-of-the-art medicine for the people of this community,” Weeks said. “We continuously strive toward raising the
bar on excellence in health care for the Gulf Coast.”
For more information on robotic assisted surgery at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, call 228-575-1527 or visit www.gulfportmemorial.com/davinci.