Surgeons at St. Paul’s Hospital may be the envy of many fellow surgeons, because they now have with a new state-of-the-art robotic-assisted surgical system, which contributes to less pain and faster recovery times for patients.

Dr. Varun Bathini, a urologist at St. Paul’s, explains that the surgical equipment in extremely small and the incision is smaller, so there is less trauam for the patient. He says they have performed 36 procedures since September, and have found that patients are out of the hospital quicker. He gives the example of prostatectomies, which are the partial or complete removal of the prostate gland. Dr. Bathini says they have found patients spend one less day in hospital compared to the non-robotic surgeries, which he estimates saves 100 bed-days on that operation alone.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Head of Surgery, Dr. Ivar Mendez, stresses that the robot is not autonomous – it is controlled by a surgeon. The robot arm can move in ways a human can’t. For example, the robotic wrist has 360 degrees of motion, and the equipment allows them to access hard-to-reach areas of the body with minimal trauma.

The cost for the system was $2.5-million. Around $1.5-million was raised by St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, including $1.1-million from the Merlis Belsher family. The province added $1-million to the pot and has committed to covering annual operational expenses, estimated at $160,000 in the first year and increasing to almost $800,000 by the fifth year.

Procedures performed thus far have included prostatectomy (surgery for the partial or complete removal of the prostate gland), nephrectomy (surgery to remove all or part of a kidney), pyeloplasty (surgery to remove a blockage involving the kidney) and cystectomy (surgery to remove all or part of the urinary bladder). Plans are underway to expand to gynecology oncology, thoracic surgery and other specialties in future.