Inova Alexandria Hospital Unveils the Newest Member of its Surgical Team

Hospital partners with local elementary students to name state-of-the-art robotic technology

ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Inova Alexandria Hospital (IAH) partnered with the community to unveil and name its latest robotic technology, the da Vinci® Xi Surgical System. This state-of-the-art equipment – part of the hospital’s new robotic surgery program – provides an alternative to both traditional open surgery and conventional minimally invasive surgery, putting a surgeon’s hands at the controls of the robotic platform. IAH is the first and only Inova hospital to offer the latest da Vinci robot, which features superior capabilities for the most complex urologic, colorectal and gynecologic procedures.

At a Community Open House in March, more than 50 community members heard from the hospital’s robotics team: Nilay Gandhi, MD, Urologist and Robotic Surgeon, and Pratik Desai, MD, Urologist and Medical Director of Robotic Surgery at IAH. Drs. Gandhi and Desai discussed the advantages of robotic surgery, which includes smaller incisions, less pain and faster recovery. After a demonstration of the technology, guests had the opportunity to “test drive” the robot for themselves.

Every robot needs a name, so IAH partnered with the 5^th graders at Cora Kelly School for Science, Technology and Math in Alexandria to come up with one. Jeffery Coster, MD, Chair of the Department of Surgery, visited the school with Dr. Gandhi to show students a video of the da Vinci Xi system in action and answer lots of great questions. They discussed how the technology benefits patients in the community, and challenged the youngsters to give the robot a name. The students submitted a list of eight possibilities and the robotic surgical team picked the winner: Leonardo, or Leo for short.

“Robotic-assisted surgery is considered the standard of care for many procedures, and a safe and effective approach to numerous conditions,” Dr. Desai says. “Our state-of-the-art robot, Leo, gives us the opportunity to bring our long-standing expertise and cutting-edge technology to the Alexandria community so our patients can receive advanced procedures close to home.”

Leo is the centerpiece of Inova Alexandria Hospital’s new robotics surgery program, which offers a wide range of procedures in the areas of urologic, colorectal, general and gynecologic surgeries. “Our surgeons already have a tremendous amount of experience with this type of surgery, but now we can offer the next generation of robotic technology, which will change the surgical experience for patients throughout the region,” says Susan Carroll, CEO. “I’m pleased to share that our surgeons successfully completed their first two cases using the da Vinci Xi robot this week.”

Media Contact: Kimberli Alberty, kimberli.alberty@inova.org

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