BARRIERS, AND SAVING LIVES, WITH A NEW ROBOTIC SYSTEM

How one Gahanna surgery center is breaking barriers, and saving lives, with a new robotic system

By Jack McLaughlin

Standing at six feet tall with four sharply angular arms ready to spring into action at any moment, the da Vinci Xi robot might at first appear dangerous to the untrained eye.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

This cutting-edge surgical system is not only saving lives by performing critical surgical procedures — including many for prostate and colon cancer—but it's also doing so much more efficiently than ever before.

Last fall, Central Ohio Urology Group (COUG) brought a da Vinci Xi Surgical System to its ambulatory surgical center in Gahanna. Priced at over $2 million, the complex instrument is one of the first such robots in the country to exist outside of a hospital setting.

According to Dr. Ronney Abaza—a world leader in robotic urology and one of COUG’s practicing surgeons—the new instrument not only offers the group’s local patients better care with less recovery, but also helps Gahanna stay on the absolute cutting edge of surgical medicine.

“Until recently, robotic surgery was something that was done almost exclusively in a hospital,” said Dr. Abaza. “We’re one of less than five in the entire country doing something like this.” →

Photo courtesy of Tim Courlas

[I]F WE CAN HELP OTHERS PROVIDE BETTER MEDICAL CARE, EVERYBODY WINS..

Controlled remotely, the surgical system is able to perform the same surgery using merely three or four pen-sized holes that would previously require a laparoscopic procedure with a much larger incision .

And while laparoscopic surgeries—which the Center would opt for before purchasing the robot— are also deemed minimally-invasive, robotic surgery drastically reduces healing time, as well as the length of a patient's post-surgical stay in the care facility.

“Previously, the vast majority of procedures would be done with people staying at least overnight,” Dr. Abaza said. “Now, patients come in and can leave in less than two hours.”

Even as important as the da Vinci Xi’s ability to perform less invasive procedures is a simple fact that Dr. Abaza believes is critically important during a time when COVID is still a real concern: “It’s simple, it can help keep people out of hospitals,” he said.

“This really opens the door for those people who are afraid of COVID or other infections from hospitals,” the surgeon added. “Worldwide, we saw people put off their medical care due to those fears.”

Central Ohio Urology Group’s Gahanna center— after preparing staff and its facility since the spring of 2021–first brought the surgical robot to Gahanna last October. And now, with half a year under its belt, the local surgical center is pivoting to an educational role, widening the reach of its already groundbreaking program.

“This week we hit 100 robotic surgeries total; today we finished 103. Nobody else has done that many [outside of a hospital setting],” Dr. Abaza said. “We’ve had one group come in from Indiana to do a site visit and learn more, and we’re planning to welcome surgery centers from around the country this year. Because if we can help others provide better medical care, everybody wins." "Central Ohio Urology Group has been a leader within the medical community and within Gahanna," said Mayor Laurie Jadwin. "As the first medical provider to locate in the Crescent at Central Park, they have been a catalyst both in the field of medicine and also transforming this Gahanna district into a much sought destination for leading medical providers within the Central Ohio community.”♦

Photo courtesy of Tim Courlas