Robotic Surgery Advances What’s Possible at Millard Fillmore Suburban

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s been about 14 years since the region’s largest hospitals began using da Vinci robotic surgical systems for urologic and OB-GYN procedures.

Today, these systems are used in nearly every specialty, including thoracic, orthopedic and general surgery, giving even the smallest community hospitals the ability to offer minimally invasive procedures with faster recovery times.

Suburban Millard Fillmore Hospital is taking full advantage, with five robots, a volume of surgical cases and a range of services that rival the best programs, hospital officials say. The hospital is about to complete its 20,000th robot-assisted surgery and performs about 2,500 a year.