The Robot Has Landed
Published Monday, May 26, 2025
My Experience “Using” the New da Vinci Robotic Surgical System
Message from Dr. Stephen Adams
Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation
On April 22, 2025, we got a glimpse of surgical history in the making at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. That's when Dr. Walid Shahrour along with several other surgeons including Dr. Jessica Holland, Dr. Caio Suartz, and Dr. Deanna Buitenhuis showed us what the term “robotic surgery” really means, and how it is or will be used for several types of surgery including colorectal, urological, and gynaecological.
I was impressed beyond words. But I'll try to explain anyway.
The first impression you get from the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System is that it's like a videogame. When it was my turn to try, I looked down a scope that looked uncannily like Spock's monitor on Star Trek. Suddenly, you're “inside” that plexi-glass box. It's like looking through a camera, except that you can see the foam square in 3D, just as if you are looking at it with your own eyes.
Using joysticks, I tried to manipulate the foam square on a little table. Across the room, thin arms with rotating pincers reached into a tiny, plexi-glass box that contained the square, reacting to the movement of the joysticks. It takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually you learn how to use the joysticks to pick up the foam square and move it around inside the box. Again, you're on the other side of the room when this happens. It's all done by remote control.
Trying my hands at the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System.
All comparisons to videogames ended when Dr. Shahrour took the controls. As we watched on the big screen above him, Dr. Shahrour quickly and skilfully sewed a couple of sutures like he had a needle and thread in his hands, talking us through each move. “That would take me twice as long with traditional laparoscopic surgery,” he said when he finished.
After Dr. Shahrour's demonstration, it's not hard to understand how the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System will improve surgeries for patients. We heard stories from the surgeons about patients going home the same day, about one patient who was able to keep most of her kidney instead of full removal, and another patient who had delicate prostate cancer surgery. We also heard how already, the da Vinci robot is attracting new surgeons to Thunder Bay.
Watching the demonstration and trying it for myself – it was like using the Internet for the first time or maybe seeing Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon. I felt that same, familiar tingle. This means something, even if we don't quite fully understand what that something is.
There's an exciting new door opening in the world of surgery. I can't wait to see where it will lead us.
Learn more about this remarkable new surgical tool here: healthsciencesfoundation.ca/news
- Dr. Stephen Adams