The overwhelming success and high demand of the first da Vinci Surgical System at Saint Mary’s Health Care mandated the purchase of a second robot, advancing the minimally invasive movement at Saint Mary’s. With an 85 percent utilization rate of the first robot, surgeons and staff at Saint Mary’s have performed nearly 400 operations with robotic assistance from April 2007 through August 2008 and lead the country in some categories of usage.

Saint Mary’s is the only hospital within 150 miles of Grand Rapids to have two robots.

A second robot will enable Saint Mary’s to meet growing requests, greatly reducing the surgical wait time. A shorter wait time results in increased physician and patient satisfaction and improved outcomes.

Through the purchase of the second da Vinci Surgical System, Saint Mary’s Health Care further promotes its minimally invasive movement. As the only center within 150-200 miles with two robots, we are allowed to perform more surgeries and to advance our robotic proficiency. 

 

Kevin Brader, MD, gynecologic oncologist, exemplifies our expertise, as he is now one of the top surgeons in the country in his use of the daVinci for gynecologic-oncology cases, having performed nearly 300 operations to date using the da Vinci robot.
 

Treating the prostate is another area of excellence for Saint Mary’s, as we perform more surgeries on the prostate with the robot than any other hospital in town, thanks to such experts as John Lobo, MD and Paul Rodriguez, MD. 
 

Saint Mary’s obstetricians, Sejal Patel Bennett, MD, and Kirsten Anderson, MD, are trained in and remove benign cysts with robotic assistance. They also are certified in robotic total laparoscopic hysterectomies, laparoscopic supra-cervical hysterectomies and other gynecological surgeries for benign conditions.   
 

Jason Bennett, MD, from Grand Rapids Women’s Health, is performing sacrocolpolexys, which is the robotic treatment for prolapse of any pelvic floor organs, such as the vagina, uterus, bladder or rectum. Michael Bennett, MD, from Grand Rapids Women’s Health is also performing many robotic surgeries, including hysterectomies and abdomenal sacrocolpopexies at Saint Mary's.  
 

With the recent certification of Bruce Shabahang, MD, thoracic surgeon, thoracic surgery with assistance from the da Vinci Surgical System will soon be performed at Saint Mary’s. Shabahang is the one of only several thoracic surgeons certified for da Vinci in the state, and approximately one of 50 in the nation.
 

Minimally invasive thoracic procedures at Saint Mary’s include lung resection, esophageal resection, resection of mediastinal and chest wall masses, mediastinal lymph node dissection and biopsies, lung biopsies and pleural procedures.