A CORK couple yesterday spoke of their delight after the birth of their daughter following a surgical procedure using robotic equipment helped reduce the risk of miscarriage.
Anne (33) and Patrick O’Mahony (35) spoke of their gratitude to consultant obstetrician Barry O’Reilly and his team at Cork University Maternity Hospital as they cuddled baby Lucy who was born shortly after 10am yesterday, weighing 6lbs.
Last year the couple from Barrachauring in Donoughmore in mid-Cork lost a baby, to be named Dylan, at five months when Anne suffered a miscarriage.
Dr O’Reilly explained that in some cases, miscarriages can be caused by a prolapse in the cervix but that a cervical suture can help reduce the risk of miscarriage in future pregnancies. That is what was offered to the O’Mahonys.
Dr O’Reilly and his team perform cervical sutures using the da Vinci surgical system, which enables a surgeon to perform complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach at a remote console using a high-resolution viewer.
“This new system allows you very precise and controlled surgical dexterity to put in cervical sutures. Traditionally this procedure would have been done through an open incision in the abdomen and would have involved five days in hospital and months of recovery,” he said.
“Now . . we can discharge a patient within 24 hours.”
The Cork hospital has been designated the first European robotic gynaecological epicentre, and the O’Mahonys are among the first beneficiaries.
“Obviously after we lost Dylan, you would be worried you don’t have a healthy baby but Dr O’Reilly gave us great hope when he explained the procedure,” Ms O’Mahony said. “We’re very relieved it’s all worked out so well.”