Special Events

Community Seminar:
The Latest Developments in Robotic Surgery

Thursday, May 22
8:30 – 10:30am
Noble Conference Center

A panel of Greenwich Hospital specialists will discuss how robotic technology is being used for general surgery as well as urologic and gynecologic procedures. Meet our da Vinci robot, too!

8:30am Check-in and Refreshments

9 – 10am Program Panelists:
Bruce Molinelli, MD
Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery
Jeffrey Ranta, MD, Urology
Judd Boczko, MD, Urology
Caroline Filor, MD, Gynecology

10 – 10:30am Q&A

Registration required. Call (203) 863-3627 or toll free (888)357-2409. Or, register online. FREE

Robots used to be the stuff of sci-fi. But today, surgical robotics are the cutting edge in modern medicine. Many surgeons are using robotic technology to advance their capabilities in minimally invasive surgery. This approach uses miniaturized tools inserted at the surgical site through extremely small incisions.

Greenwich Hospital was one of the first in the area to acquire the da Vinci® Surgical System, back in 2006. This highly advanced technology dramatically enhances the surgeon’s visualization, precision, control and dexterity when performing delicate surgeries.

Smaller incisions, faster healing
The da Vinci system allows surgeons to remotely maneuver instruments from a console. Because the system can provide up to a 20-fold reduction in movement, it is ideal for surgeries in small areas.

Minimally invasive (or laparoscopic) surgery is not appropriate for every situation. But when it is, doctors and patients alike appreciate the advantages. These include less pain and blood loss, and much shorter recovery times. Patients also experience minimal scarring and a quicker return to normal activities. With robotic technology, more procedures can be done laparoscopically, allowing more patients to receive the benefits.

Expanding the applications
One of the first applications of robotic surgery was for prostatectomy, the removal of cancerous prostate glands. The results proved so positive, with such excellent outcomes and fewer side effects, that by 2007, da Vinci robotics were used in 63 percent of prostate surgeries nationwide.

“Now, we’re bringing the advantages of robotic technology into other areas,” says Bruce Molinelli, MD, the hospital's director of minimally invasive surgery. “It has important applications in gynecologic surgery–for removal of ovarian masses – and in bariatric surgery such as gastric bypass and band placements. For our surgeons who are already skilled in minimally invasive technique, the da Vinci system makes procedures easier, and enables more surgeons to master them.”

In the future, says Dr. Molinelli, “we can anticipate more applications such as colon surgery. We may even be able to perform surgeries remotely. If a patient in another hospital needs the skills of a Greenwich Hospital specialist, the da Vinci system could transmit the surgeon’s precise hand movements to virtually any operating room in the world.”