INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of a woman’s uterus, and the procedure dates back centuries. But, the way doctors perform it has changed dramatically over the years. Now with the assistance of robots, surgeons are reporting even higher success rates.

Ajanta Brasauskas has been hiking for the last 10 years.

“This is my favorite thing to do,” Brasauskas said.

But then, life-altering symptoms got in the way.

“I started having heavy bleeding,” Brasauskas said.

And it was unpredictable.

“If I go for my hikes, I had to bring pads in my bag,” Brasauskas said.

Dr. Dwight D. Im, MD, medical director for The Institute for Gynecologic Care at Mercy Medical Center, said it was fibroids, and she needed a hysterectomy.

“Hysterectomy simply means taking out their uterus,” Im said.

Brasauskas’ surgeon is renowned for providing robot-assisted hysterectomies, a big change from early versions of the procedure.

“Either a bikini cut or sometimes straight up and down,” Im said.

He says it’s an improvement on minimally invasive approaches that require just tiny cuts.

“You really couldn’t see. It was black and white sometimes and you’d be operating looking at the monitor,” Im said.

This robot-assisted technique gives surgeons a 3D view inside the stomach, allowing unmatched precision in 4K.

“I can do nerve-sparing hysterectomies where the patients not only recover more quickly but their bladder function is restored back to normal rather quickly, bowel function is. So it’s better care,” Im said.

And as far as the whole robot thing:

“It’s still dependent on the operator, which is a surgeon,” Im said.

Helping some patients get back to work in days instead of weeks. And in Brasauskas’ case, back on the trails in three days.

“I came here to this park. And I walked slowly. So, I walked like one mile this way and another mile back. Felt great. And here I am enjoying my life again,” Brasauskas said.

In addition to fibroids, a doctor might recommend hysterectomies for conditions like cancer or endometriosis.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.

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