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myomectomy for fibroids and to treat healthcare issues such as abnormal bleeding, severe endometriosis, and ovarian cysts. "I see a lot of women who have delayed their hysterectomy for years because they don't want an open surgery," says Dr. Orady. "That woman's doctor may have told her that her uterus was too big or her fibroids were too big (for a minimally invasive approach), or that she has had too many previous surger- ies. Then, the patient sees me, and she understands that it is possible to have the procedure minimally invasively and with much less pain and trauma and downtime. These women really need what we have to offer." Dr. Orady says the improved three- d i men sion a l 10X h igh- def i n it ion visualization and precision of the da Vinci system make it possible to manipu- late tiny blood vessels, often controlling bleeding before it starts. She points out that robotic-assisted surgery can even reduce the chance that a procedure will have to be converted to an open operation during surgery if scarring or difficult anatomy is encountered. "Conversion rates are even lower for robotic surgery than they are for laparoscopic surgery," she says. "That's why I advocate for the robot for more complex cases where the chances of conversion are higher." Robotic Gyn Cancer Surgery G y n e c o l o g i c o n c o l o g i s t J a s o n Knight, MD, is another one of the grow- ing roster of highly trained surgeons offering minimally invasive options to women at Fairview Hospital. Dr. Knight trained at Yale Medical School and did his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He completed his Gynecologic Oncology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic in 2013 and now offers robotic-assisted and other minimally invasive surgeries to women at Fairview Hospital. "It is not just about the availability of a robotic system at Fairview. It's about the availability of qualified robotic surgeons," says Dr. Knight, who adds that his goal is to consider a minimally invasive option for every patient. "If a surgeon has the skill to approach the problem in multiple ways, he or she is likely to be able to use the right tool on the right patient. Fairview Hospital has its own da Vinci Robotic System which is comprised of three integrated components: an ergonomic surgeon's console (not shown), a patient-side cart with four interactive robotic arms, and a video tower which houses the dedicated system processors and the high-definition 3-D vision system. 2 4 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M ■ M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 4