William L. Norwood, MD, an independent laparoscopic, general and bariatric surgeon with Willis-Knighton Medical Center, performed his 5,000th da Vinci® robotic surgery on Tuesday, April 9.

 “I could not have completed this milestone without the assistance of Willis-Knighton Medical Center, its surgical team and my surgical assistant, Greg Melder,” Dr. Norwood says.

A representative of Intuitive Surgical Inc., manufacturer of the da Vinci robotic system, acknowledges Dr. Norwood as the highest volume da Vinci® robotic general surgeon in the world.

The da Vinci surgery system enables surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery with enhanced surgical precision, control, stability and 3D high definition visualization. Benefits to patients include smaller incisions, shorter hospital stays, less pain, reduced risk of infection and faster recovery times.

Dr. Norwood first used the da Vinci technology in November 2009. Since that time he has averaged 16 to 17 robotic bariatric surgeries per week.