Just over 10 years after it became the first Capital Region hospital to acquire and use a da Vinci® computer-enhanced surgical system, St. Peter’s Hospital (SPH) has become the first in the region, and one of the first in the nation, to bring the benefits of the new da Vinci Xi Surgical System to patients.
St. Peter’s Hospital is replacing both of its previous da Vinci robotic systems, bought in 2004 and 2011, with the new da Vinci Xi equipment. The two new robots offer skilled surgeons access to a system that provides greater precision and control through three-dimensional, high-definition visualization and enhanced dexterity. St. Peter’s da Vinci Xi robots were delivered on July 1 and will begin being used on Wednesday, July 16. The two systems cost more than $2.6 million.
In the decade since St. Peter’s Hospital began using the da Vinci systems, it has performed more robotic surgeries than any other institution in the region. St. Peter’s is first in upstate New York in total robotic volume and first in New York state for gynecologic and GYN oncology procedures. It also has some of the highest robotic procedure volumes in the United States. Today, St. Peter’s Hospital has performed nearly 5,500 robotic procedures, nearly one percent of all robotic procedures in the world.
“St. Peter’s Hospital is proud to be a leader in the advanced and appropriate use of robotic surgery to expand the horizons of minimally invasive surgery,” said Ann Errichetti, MD, MBA, chief executive officer of St. Peter’s Hospital. “Today surgeons at St. Peter’s Hospital have become highly proficient at robotic surgery and are national leaders in robotic usage in procedures on the prostate, kidney and bladder, as well as gynecological surgeries including gynecological cancers.”
“Our practice began using the da Vinci robotic surgical system in 2005. Being the first gynecology team in New York state to use the system, we were able to pioneer new approaches for the treatment of women’s cancer,” said Dr. Daniel Kredentser, gynecologic oncologist, Women’s Cancer Care Associates, and medical director, St. Peter’s Health Partners Cancer Care. “It has been a unique, cutting-edge addition to the tools we are able to employ in providing the most effective and efficient treatment for our patients.”
“Robotic surgery has been valuable in the treatment of gynecological cancers – particularly endometrial cancers – where it has contributed to significant reductions in morbidity, mortality and of length of stay. It has reduced the hospitalization for hysterectomy from seven days to an overnight stay,” Dr. Kredentser said. “While ultimately it is the skill, knowledge and experience of the surgical team that is most important, the ability for that team to have the most advanced technological tools available helps to provide the best outcomes. Having the new da Vinci XI system in our arsenal of weapons against cancer will allow us to develop new surgical techniques to benefit our patients.”
“The benefits of the Xi include improved vision, improved mechanics, and the ability to place the camera into any of the robotic port sites, providing a different look at the operative field,” said Dr. Michael Perrotti, surgical oncologist at Albany Urologic Oncology, and a member of the surgical staff at St. Peter’s Hospital. “In addition, the greater range of motion of the robotic arms on the Xi allows them to be positioned, after docking, to approach different areas of the abdomen without re-docking.”
The da Vinci Xi Surgical System, which was cleared by the FDA just three months ago, has broader capabilities than prior generations of the da Vinci Systems. The new system features new “overhead architecture” which enables efficient access throughout the abdomen and chest, and allows for multi-quadrant surgery to be performed without repositioning the system. It also has smaller, thinner arms with newly designed joints that offer a greater range of motion than ever before, and longer instrument shafts designed to give surgeons greater surgical reach.
