Christina M Sharon, MD, Luca Milone, MD, Gonzalo Ausqui, MD. The Brooklyn Hospital Center
The DaVinci Platform for General Surgery is now used worldwide with excellent results throughout and although the future is bright in robotic surgery, some surgeons and institutions are still reluctant to invest time and resources into opening a robotic program. We report on our experience of building a General Surgery Robotic Program in a small community metropolitan hospital. The Robotic Program at The Brooklyn Hospital Center was launched in January of 2017 and by August of 2017, the General Surgery Department had commenced utilizing the DaVinci platform under the guidance of a Robotic fellowship trained surgeon. In a short twelve months, a single surgeon performed a total of 103 cases. These cases included 32 inguinal herniorrhaphy, 36 cholecystectomies, 24 ventral herniorrhaphy, of which 3 were transversus abdominus muscle releases, 8 colectomies, 1 adrenalectomy, 1 paraesophageal hernia, and 1 rectal resection. Of the 103 cases, we had 1 readmission within 30 days (0.9%), 5 surgical complications (4.8%), and 1 mortality (0.9%).
Residents in the Surgical Program were actively involved in the Robotic Surgery program. From the beginning of the program, all residents in the General Surgery training program were required to complete online modules and one dry robotic lab prior to scrubbing into any robotic cases. Interns were limited to bedside robotic assistance while PGY 2 and above where allowed to enhance their skills on the console after performing a minimum of 15 cases at the bedside. At the completion of the year, Chief residents were able to perform uncomplicated herniorrhaphies and cholecystectomies independently. In addition to resident training, all operating room staff members that were part of the robotic team were trained individually, including weekly meetings that were held in order to allow for continued education.
In conclusion, our goal with this report is to shed light on the promising possibilities of piloting a robotic program in a small community metropolitan hospital and to encourage others to do the same. Success is measured by outcomes, and through our experience, we learned to achieve success starting with less complex procedures and to create a team environment that was conducive to minimizing complications. Resident training also plays an important role in creating enthusiasm around the robotic platform.
Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Abstract ID: 95599
Program Number: P657
Presentation Session: Poster Session (Non CME)
Presentation Type: Poster
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