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The Latest in Robotic-Assisted Surgery
Since its inception in 2008, Crouse Health’s robotic surgery program has grown to become the region’s largest multispecialty robotic surgery program, performing more than twenty-one-hundred procedures performed in 2022. With seven surgical robots and 25 surgical specialists supporting the program, specialty areas include general surgery; bariatric; colorectal; GYN oncology; gynecology; thoracic and urology.
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Po Lam, MD
Po Lam, MD
Dr. Po N. Lam is a graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He completed his surgical training from the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center. He went on to receive his urologic training at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.Learn more about Po Lam, MD
Transcription:
The Latest in Robotic-Assisted Surgery
Joey Wahler (Host): Robotic assisted surgery continues to improve medical procedures, including in urology, so we're discussing this cutting edge technology. Our guest, Dr. Po Lam, a urology surgeon for Kraus Health. This is Kraus HealthCast, a podcast from Kraus Health. Thanks for listening. I'm Joey Wahler. Hi there, Dr. Lam. Thanks for joining us.
Dr Po Lam: Hi. Thank you for having me.
Host: Great to have you with us. So first, generally speaking, and we'll get into more specifics in a moment, but in your field, urology, how basically does robotic surgery benefit both the patient and of course, you as a surgeon as well?
Guest: For the patient, robotic surgery is very useful in allowing us to provide great care and great access to small, confined areas within the body for surgical removal or correction. One of the greatest benefit of robotic surgery, it's the minimally invasive aspect of it, allowing you to remove and correct certain urological problems through small little keyhole incisions.
The other advantage of this is that because it's such small incision, it allows for quicker recovery on less pain. In addition to this, the technology of robotic surgery enhances the surgeon's surgical skill. It takes away from any type of tremors. It also allows for greater magnification of the anatomy, allowing us to see better and perform better surgery.
Host: Interesting that you say, it actually improves your skill. So how long have you, yourself been using robotic assisted technology and what types of procedures typically are you using the robot for most?
Guest: I've been using the Da Vinci surgical system and the robotic surgery for about 20 years now. Starting in residency into fellowship and, in my practice. And I've been practicing for about 17 years and with my training, I'd say about 20 years of experience with the robotic system. I typically do a lot of oncology or cancer surgeries, removing prostates, for cancer, kidney masses or kidney cancers, bladder cancers. And we also do a lot of reconstructive surgeries, for damages or, repair of, Which are also in the purview of urologists in taking care of many of the urological issues that are associated with our, kidneys, our bladders, and our prostates.
Host: Gotcha. And speaking of which, I understand that Kraus's robotic surgery program has really grown significantly since it started back in 2008 with more than 15,000 cases performed to date. To what do you attribute all of that success to?
Guest: I think the reason why the program has been so successful is because of the surgeons as well as the hospital's commitment to providing better care for the community. And since 2008, Kraus Hospital with administration had a goal to provide better care for, the patients in the central New York area. They invested a lot of time and a lot of money into developing the robotics program and in addition to that, they also have the support of the, staff, the nurses, as well as the surgeons who are willing to take on this new technology and provide, great care for the patients.
So with a very team oriented and, outlook on the future and, providing, this care. I think as a team, as a hospital with everyone involved, it just continues to be, very successful and provide great care with high volume of successful cases for the patients, in the Century New York area.
Host: Well, you're talking there about personnel switching over to equipment. Kraus has six surgical robots in use, if I'm correct, and just recently added a seventh system. Him becoming the only hospital in Central New York to use this DaVinci SP surgical platform that you alluded to a moment ago. Can you in a nutshell, just briefly explain what that is and how it differs from the other systems Kraus has been using?
Guest: Yes, the traditional robotics system is a multi-port system, using very stiff and rigid instruments, including the camera and scissors and graspers to get into the body. This would require multiple incisions, anywhere from three incisions up to five incisions. And, the SP which is a single port, it, is what it is. It sounds like it is a single port system in which you can deploy the camera, the scissors, the graspers, everything that's needed to perform the surgery through one single incision. And, the advances in technology that allows that is the development of what we call flexible arms.
And basically what happens, with a single port system is that in one single incision. All of these instruments, the camera and everything else go through one incision, which is very small. But then once it gets into the body, all of these instruments can then spread out like octopus arms and be able to allow the surgeon to manipulate tissue and cut and perform the surgery. So the advantage of the single port incision and the single port system is that, it's smaller incision, again, better, visualization because of the technology and also provides, quickly recovered for the patient with less pain.
Host: So even using robotic assistance, the human touch from your team is still crucial here, isn't it? So maybe can you talk a little bit about the importance of that teamwork that you're involved with at Kraus in terms of how that translates to helping patients?
Guest: As a surgeon, and as with anything, you can't perform these complicated cases without a good, supportive team. A robot is just a tool and a surgeon is just one person and taking care of a patient and doing any type of surgeries, or anything, even baking a cake, it requires a lot of supportive care and supportive team to help you operate the system, take care of the patients and also, allow you to continue to learn and, provide good care.
Host: and you yourself have had a rather distinguished career and I suppose therefore could practice most anywhere. So why Kraus for you? Why there?
Guest: I chose to operate in, practice at Kraus because of the administration, the people at Kraus and the, culture at Kraus. Kraus is a unique hospital in which it's a fairly large hospital, but it's still feels like it's a big family. They take care of their nurses, their staff, their surgeons, as well as they take care of the community, as if everyone's a family. I think it's easy to choose to go to different hospitals and different places to work, but when you have this culture of which you are thinking about taking care of patients and working together to take care of patients as if they are a friend or a family. It's different. It allows you to feel that you've accomplished something and that when you do accomplish something, that it's meaningful.
Host: And having said it's meaningful, and of course that's great to hear, in summary here, robots aside once again to end on a human note, if you will. Well, what you say is your personal patient care philosophy that you've developed over the years that our listeners can expect when treated at Kraus?
Guest: I share very similar values with Kraus. I treat my patients as if they are my friend or myself, or a family member. I would never recommend or do anything to a patient that I would not recommend or do to myself or any of my family members. I think that is the most important part of Kraus's philosophy. Everyone that they take care of, they take care of as if it is one of their own. Whether it's a stranger that can come into the ER or another family member of a employee that's worked at Kraus. I think everyone's treated very much the same, and I think it's a very unique place to be, especially in today's world.
Host: Well, it certainly sounds like it. And while we've been talking urology, I know that Kraus also uses robotic assistance in a number of other specialty areas like general surgery, colorectal, gynecology, and thoracic. Just to name some. Well folks we trust your now more familiar with robotic assisted Surgery in the area of urology at Kraus. Dr. Po Lam, thanks so much.
Guest: Thank you.
Host: And for more information, please visit kraus.org/robotics or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Now, if you found this podcast helpful, please do share it on your social media, and thanks for listening to Kraus HealthCast, a podcast from Kraus Health, hoping your health is good health. I'm Joey Wahler.
The Latest in Robotic-Assisted Surgery
Joey Wahler (Host): Robotic assisted surgery continues to improve medical procedures, including in urology, so we're discussing this cutting edge technology. Our guest, Dr. Po Lam, a urology surgeon for Kraus Health. This is Kraus HealthCast, a podcast from Kraus Health. Thanks for listening. I'm Joey Wahler. Hi there, Dr. Lam. Thanks for joining us.
Dr Po Lam: Hi. Thank you for having me.
Host: Great to have you with us. So first, generally speaking, and we'll get into more specifics in a moment, but in your field, urology, how basically does robotic surgery benefit both the patient and of course, you as a surgeon as well?
Guest: For the patient, robotic surgery is very useful in allowing us to provide great care and great access to small, confined areas within the body for surgical removal or correction. One of the greatest benefit of robotic surgery, it's the minimally invasive aspect of it, allowing you to remove and correct certain urological problems through small little keyhole incisions.
The other advantage of this is that because it's such small incision, it allows for quicker recovery on less pain. In addition to this, the technology of robotic surgery enhances the surgeon's surgical skill. It takes away from any type of tremors. It also allows for greater magnification of the anatomy, allowing us to see better and perform better surgery.
Host: Interesting that you say, it actually improves your skill. So how long have you, yourself been using robotic assisted technology and what types of procedures typically are you using the robot for most?
Guest: I've been using the Da Vinci surgical system and the robotic surgery for about 20 years now. Starting in residency into fellowship and, in my practice. And I've been practicing for about 17 years and with my training, I'd say about 20 years of experience with the robotic system. I typically do a lot of oncology or cancer surgeries, removing prostates, for cancer, kidney masses or kidney cancers, bladder cancers. And we also do a lot of reconstructive surgeries, for damages or, repair of, Which are also in the purview of urologists in taking care of many of the urological issues that are associated with our, kidneys, our bladders, and our prostates.
Host: Gotcha. And speaking of which, I understand that Kraus's robotic surgery program has really grown significantly since it started back in 2008 with more than 15,000 cases performed to date. To what do you attribute all of that success to?
Guest: I think the reason why the program has been so successful is because of the surgeons as well as the hospital's commitment to providing better care for the community. And since 2008, Kraus Hospital with administration had a goal to provide better care for, the patients in the central New York area. They invested a lot of time and a lot of money into developing the robotics program and in addition to that, they also have the support of the, staff, the nurses, as well as the surgeons who are willing to take on this new technology and provide, great care for the patients.
So with a very team oriented and, outlook on the future and, providing, this care. I think as a team, as a hospital with everyone involved, it just continues to be, very successful and provide great care with high volume of successful cases for the patients, in the Century New York area.
Host: Well, you're talking there about personnel switching over to equipment. Kraus has six surgical robots in use, if I'm correct, and just recently added a seventh system. Him becoming the only hospital in Central New York to use this DaVinci SP surgical platform that you alluded to a moment ago. Can you in a nutshell, just briefly explain what that is and how it differs from the other systems Kraus has been using?
Guest: Yes, the traditional robotics system is a multi-port system, using very stiff and rigid instruments, including the camera and scissors and graspers to get into the body. This would require multiple incisions, anywhere from three incisions up to five incisions. And, the SP which is a single port, it, is what it is. It sounds like it is a single port system in which you can deploy the camera, the scissors, the graspers, everything that's needed to perform the surgery through one single incision. And, the advances in technology that allows that is the development of what we call flexible arms.
And basically what happens, with a single port system is that in one single incision. All of these instruments, the camera and everything else go through one incision, which is very small. But then once it gets into the body, all of these instruments can then spread out like octopus arms and be able to allow the surgeon to manipulate tissue and cut and perform the surgery. So the advantage of the single port incision and the single port system is that, it's smaller incision, again, better, visualization because of the technology and also provides, quickly recovered for the patient with less pain.
Host: So even using robotic assistance, the human touch from your team is still crucial here, isn't it? So maybe can you talk a little bit about the importance of that teamwork that you're involved with at Kraus in terms of how that translates to helping patients?
Guest: As a surgeon, and as with anything, you can't perform these complicated cases without a good, supportive team. A robot is just a tool and a surgeon is just one person and taking care of a patient and doing any type of surgeries, or anything, even baking a cake, it requires a lot of supportive care and supportive team to help you operate the system, take care of the patients and also, allow you to continue to learn and, provide good care.
Host: and you yourself have had a rather distinguished career and I suppose therefore could practice most anywhere. So why Kraus for you? Why there?
Guest: I chose to operate in, practice at Kraus because of the administration, the people at Kraus and the, culture at Kraus. Kraus is a unique hospital in which it's a fairly large hospital, but it's still feels like it's a big family. They take care of their nurses, their staff, their surgeons, as well as they take care of the community, as if everyone's a family. I think it's easy to choose to go to different hospitals and different places to work, but when you have this culture of which you are thinking about taking care of patients and working together to take care of patients as if they are a friend or a family. It's different. It allows you to feel that you've accomplished something and that when you do accomplish something, that it's meaningful.
Host: And having said it's meaningful, and of course that's great to hear, in summary here, robots aside once again to end on a human note, if you will. Well, what you say is your personal patient care philosophy that you've developed over the years that our listeners can expect when treated at Kraus?
Guest: I share very similar values with Kraus. I treat my patients as if they are my friend or myself, or a family member. I would never recommend or do anything to a patient that I would not recommend or do to myself or any of my family members. I think that is the most important part of Kraus's philosophy. Everyone that they take care of, they take care of as if it is one of their own. Whether it's a stranger that can come into the ER or another family member of a employee that's worked at Kraus. I think everyone's treated very much the same, and I think it's a very unique place to be, especially in today's world.
Host: Well, it certainly sounds like it. And while we've been talking urology, I know that Kraus also uses robotic assistance in a number of other specialty areas like general surgery, colorectal, gynecology, and thoracic. Just to name some. Well folks we trust your now more familiar with robotic assisted Surgery in the area of urology at Kraus. Dr. Po Lam, thanks so much.
Guest: Thank you.
Host: And for more information, please visit kraus.org/robotics or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Now, if you found this podcast helpful, please do share it on your social media, and thanks for listening to Kraus HealthCast, a podcast from Kraus Health, hoping your health is good health. I'm Joey Wahler.