Rotarians treated to robotic surgical equipment demonstration

Wednesday afternoon, the Nashville Rotary Club attended a demonstration of the new Intuitive da Vinci XI surgical robotic system at Howard Memorial Hospital.

Last year, Howard Memorial Hospital Foundation president, Gary Dan Futrell informed the Rotary club that the surgical robotic system would cost about $2.5 million dollars.

Nelson Kaye is a representative of Intuitive Surgical from Little Rock and he stated the da Vinci system will provide the most minimally invasive surgical outcomes for patients.

Rotarians were not only able to look at the equipment, but were allowed to operate the the system.

Howard Memorial Surgery Director Lindsay Hooper said the da Vinci robotic system is a monumental moment for the hospital and the city of Nashville. She said Howard Memorial Hospital is the first critical care hospital in the state to invest in a da Vinci surgical robotic system.

Currently, two surgeons at Howard Memorial Hospital are trained to use the de Vinci system. Dr. Mark Sutherland has conducted over 600 operations using the system and Dr. Bertrand Fonji is a certified surgical robotic instructor.