GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Bellin Hospital offers cutting-edge care with faster recovery for local patients.
We want to warn you that the video in this story contains some graphic footage from inside an operation.
We're talking about advanced heart care now available close to home.
Bellin Hospital in Green Bay is the only hospital in our area offering robotic heart surgery, making procedures less invasive and recovery much faster.
In the video above, you can see robotic heart surgery in action, performed by Dr. Michael Bailey, right here in Green Bay. It’s the same surgery that saved Bruce Katers’ life.
“They caught it in time, and then we got it fixed right away,” Bruce said.
A problem with Bruce’s heart valve was discovered during a routine checkup. Soon after, he was facing major surgery.
Dr. Bailey trained with the world’s first robotic cardiac surgeons and brought that experience to Bellin Hospital.
“We're the region's only minimally invasive cardiac surgical program,” he said. Bellin is the only place offering this in Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.
Bellin is now one of just three hospitals in Wisconsin offering robotic heart surgery, and the difference for patients is huge.
“The robotic device is simply an instrument that gives me a little bit more flexibility,” Dr. Bailey explained. “We make very small incisions, typically less than an inch in size, and are able to go in between the ribs, so not cutting or breaking any bones.”
Dr. Bailey is the only surgeon performing this surgery in Northeast Wisconsin.
He says it's not about replacing surgeons with robots, but rather about giving surgeons more precision and providing patients with a better experience.
“It’s not something where we type into a computer and tell the robot to do the surgery,” he said. “It’s just an instrument that I control from a console.”
Robotic surgery, he says, is easier on the patient, with less downtime, less pain, and patients back to normal activity in just two weeks.
“I had the surgery on a Thursday,” Bruce recalled. “And I was out on Sunday. I think I was driving within a week. And then at one month, I was doing everything.”
This kind of care used to mean a trip to Milwaukee or out of state, but not anymore.
For heart patients across Northeast Wisconsin and the U.P., it means getting better faster and staying close to home.
“It was caught on a routine physical with no symptoms,” Bruce said. “And five months later, it's corrected. That was just a life-changing path. I couldn't be happier.”
Dr. Bailey is currently training other surgeons in cardiac robotics to expand its use at Bellin Hospital this fall.
To find out if you're a candidate, visit Bellin’s website.
