Val Verde Regional Medical Center adds da Vinci 5 robotic surgery system

Val Verde Regional Medical Center has begun doing robotic-assisted surgery in Del Rio, bringing procedures in obstetrics and gynecology, bariatric surgery, colorectal surgery, general surgery and surgical oncology closer to home. The hospital formally announced the arrival of the da Vinci 5 Surgical Robot on Tuesday, May 26, and Dr. Ashley Lopez, an OB/GYN at VVRMC, performed the first robotic-assisted surgery there on June 2.

VVRMC said the new platform is designed to support precision, visualization and minimally invasive care, and the robot does not operate on its own. Surgeons control every movement, with Lopez describing the system as an extension of the surgeon’s hands. She said the platform offers more freedom of movement than traditional laparoscopic surgery while still using small incisions, which can mean less blood loss, less pain after surgery and a better recovery process.

The hospital also opened the technology to the public. VVRMC hosted a da Vinci 5 demonstration in the lobby from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 19, giving residents a chance to meet surgeons and see the equipment firsthand. The physicians expected to use the system include Lopez, Antonio Castaneda, Wyn Nguyen, Shawn Nichols and Mark Manning, signaling that the robot is being built into multiple service lines rather than reserved for a single specialty.

The local payoff is less travel. VVRMC and its Legacy Foundation have said expanding robotic surgery should reduce the need for patients to leave the region for advanced care and ease the strain on family life and work schedules. A local business also donated $20,000 to help advance robotic-assisted surgery at the hospital, showing community support before the first cases were completed.

That matters in a border region where access gaps are already well documented. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says U.S.-Mexico border communities share social and environmental conditions that affect health, and the Texas Tribune reported that more than 90% of Texas’ 32 border counties lacked enough primary care services, sites or providers to meet local medical needs. VVRMC’s new system adds a newer generation of minimally invasive surgery to that landscape. FDA records show the da Vinci Surgical System, model IS5000, received 510(k) clearance in March 2024, and Intuitive says da Vinci 5 includes more than 150 design innovations and 10,000 times the computing power of earlier generations. For Del Rio, the bigger change is not the machine itself, but the chance to keep more care, and more recovery time, in town.