Surgeons and administrators from hospitals in 26 states and several foreign countries attended the 2016 Academic Session on robotic-assisted surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The session, Feb. 19-20, was co-sponsored by Intuitive Surgical, developers of the da Vinci surgical system, the most common surgical robots in use in the United States.
The event featured presentations from leading surgeons in the field of robotic-assisted surgery from UAB and around the nation, and showcased three live-streamed surgical case observations performed by UAB surgeons. The session was designed to spark discussion on how best practices can improve patient outcomes, and how to deftly combine training, education and patient care in robotic-assisted surgery.
With more than 7,000 procedures performed, UAB boasts the eighth-largest program in the nation among academic medical centers. Thirty-three active UAB surgeons have been trained in the use of the da Vinci systems. UAB does about 1,000 surgeries each year with the da Vinci systems, about triple the average of Alabama hospitals.
UAB physicians in eight surgical disciplines utilize robotic surgery, including cardiac, thoracic, liver, urologic, gynecologic, colorectal, oncologic and general surgery. Because of the volume of cases across multiple disciplines, UAB is a world leader in teaching and performing robotic-assisted surgery.