MDNews - Central New York

CROUSE HEALTH: Leading the Way in Robotic Surgery — Past, Present and Future SIN C E I T S IN C E P T IO N in 2008, the Crouse Institute for Robotic Surger y has evolved to become the largest mul- tispecialty robotic surgery program in Central New York. Crouse Health has a sizable team of highly skilled, experienced surgeons, each committed to the use of the newest, most adva nced surg ica l technology available today. Surgeons at Crouse Health continually enhance their minimally invasive surgical skills in order to offer their patients the highest level of care possible. Surgeons and administrators at Crouse, particularly those who were instrumental in laying the initial foundation for the program's infrastructure, share their perspectives on how Crouse became the market leader in this highly competitive and continually evolving field of modern medical technology. HISTORY OF ROBOTIC SURGERY Central New York was not the birthplace of robotic surgery, and the da Vinci Surgical System was certainly not the first robot designed to assist in performing surgical procedures. According to the American Journal of Robotic Surgery, a robot was used for the first time in a procedure over 30 years ago, when the PUMA 200 was utilized for needle placement during a CT-guided brain biopsy. There have been many advances in robotic technolog y since that first robotic-assisted proce- dure back in 1985. Each improvement led to the first da Vinci Surgical System, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000. This early da Vinci model broke new ground as the first robotic surgery technology approved for general laparoscopic surgery. THE MAKING OF A LEADER Eventua lly, the Crouse Hea lth tea m began to contemplate what it would take to establish a successful robotic surgery program of its own. When approached by its highly skilled staff of surgeons who had learned about the many benefits of robotic surgery, administrators at Crouse saw the promise of such a program and committed the resources to building it, in partnership with its surgeons. Po Lam, MD, a board-certified urolo- gist at Crouse Hea lth, performs close to 200 robotic procedures each year. His fellowship training included endourol- ogy, laparoscopy and minimally invasive surgery at the University of Oklahoma Hea lth Sciences Center. Dr. Lam was instrumental in getting Crouse Health's robotic surgery program off the ground. " I n 2 0 0 6 , Crou se d id not h ave a robotic surgery program. I met with Paul Kronenberg, MD, [CEO of Crouse Health at the time] to ask him if we could start a program," Dr. Lam says. "Since then, the Crouse program has grown significantly." Dr. La m, as well as GY N/oncolog y surgeons Mary Cunningham, MD, and Douglas Bunn, MD, conducted much of the initial research to learn about program start-up costs. They also estimated the number of cases it would take to make t he i nve s t ment i n t he t e c h nolo g y, training and other expenses worth the initial expenditure. BY SHERRY CHRISTIANSEN A S MODERN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO SEE E XPONENTIAL GROW TH, THE CROUSE INSTITUTE FOR ROBOTIC SURGERY REMAINS A LE ADER IN THE INDUSTRY, L ARGELY DUE TO ITS PIONEERING SPIRIT AND TE AM- CENTERED APPROACH. James Sartori, MD, member of Crouse Robotics Team 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y

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