McLaren Greater Lansing Completes 10,000th Robotic-Assisted Procedure in 2024
Robotic surgery has been widely celebrated for its ability to assist in surgery with more precision and dexterity than a human hand. This can lead to faster recovery, less pain, and smaller scars for surgical patients.
In 2007, McLaren Greater Lansing launched its robotic program with its first da Vinci robotic-assisted procedure. Now, 17 years later, it is celebrating a major milestone of 10,000 robotic-assisted cases completed at this Lansing hospital.
The 10,000th case, an incisional hernia repair, was completed on September 30, 2024, by Dr. Nicholas St. Hilaire, general surgeon with McLaren Greater Lansing Minimally Invasive Surgical Associates.
“McLaren has fostered an environment where we can offer robotic surgery to a wide variety of surgical needs throughout various subspecialties. We continue to grow and perfect our robotic surgery programs and efficiency,” said Dr. St.Hilaire. “Our surgeons have become very proficient with robotic surgery and have been able to perform more complex surgeries with excellent results.”
There are currently five specialties that use the da Vinci robotic system at McLaren Greater Lansing, with plans to expand to include gynecologic oncology in the coming months. These are the current specialties:
- General surgery
- Urology
- Gynecology
- Colorectal
- Thoracic
“We are proud of the robotic surgery program at McLaren and are looking forward to caring for the next 10,000 patients who benefit from this type of surgery,” said Dr. Troy Ferguson, general surgeon at Lansing Surgical Associates who performs surgery and is one of the department chairs for robotic surgery at McLaren.
The da Vinci robotic system is just one of the robotic systems that McLaren Greater Lansing utilizes. The hospital also is home to the MAKO Robotic Arm-Assisted System used for hip and knee replacements, a Brainlab Navigation Platform used for spinal surgery, and as of three months ago, an Ion Robotic Bronchoscopy that is used to biopsy lung nodules.
“The Ion robotic system has completely transformed the process of collecting lung tissue samples for biopsy, making it not only safer but also incredibly simple,” said Dr. Salah Aboubakr, pulmonologist at Capitol Area Pulmonary Associates who performs surgery and cares for patients at McLaren Greater Lansing. “This is particularly true for cases involving small lung nodules located in hard-to-reach areas like the periphery. With the Ion system’s ultrathin and ultra-maneuverable catheter, clinicians are now able to access all 18 segments of the lung with increased reach, precision, and stability.”
To learn more about the robotic surgical program at McLaren Greater Lansing, click here.
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