Cayuga Med touts robotic surgery benefits

In late September, Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) announced the addition of da Vinci Xi, the latest, most advanced robotics surgical system, to its growing portfolio of patient offerings. Dr. Greg Ripich, a general surgeon at CMC, has spoken to its effectiveness in making surgery as easy and painless as possible.

The fourth-generation da Vinci Xi Surgical System is designed to enhance surgeon capabilities and advance minimally invasive procedures, according to a recent press release.

“We are extremely pleased to offer our patients the latest technology and advantages of robotic surgery,” said Dr. Martin Stallone, chief executive officer of CMC and Cayuga Health Systems, in the release. “For many patients, robotic surgery is a better, safer option than open surgery, as studies have found that patients experience shorter hospital stays, less blood loss, fewer complications, less need for narcotic pain medicine and a faster recovery.”

John Turner, vice president of public relations at CMC, said the da Vinci system has been an addition many years in the making.

“We see this as an opportunity to grow our general surgery at Cayuga Medical Center,” Turner said. “The da Vinci has actually been around for quite some time, and we really see this as an opportunity to bring this service to our community right here.”

The da Vinci offers advanced instrumentation and vision and features such as integrated table motion, according to the release. Versatile and flexible, it has setup automation and guidance that promotes efficiency, providing multi-quadrant access used for a variety of complex procedures.

“The da Vinci Xi robotic system acts as an extension of the surgeon’s eyes and hands, giving us a 3-D magnified vision and 360° dexterity of four arms, which allows for more effective, precise surgical movements,” Ripich said in the press release. “The surgeon is 100% in control of the robot, which translates his/her hand movements into smaller, more precise movements of tiny instruments inside the patient’s body.”

Ripich has over 20 years of surgical experience in the central New York area, beginning in the late ’90s in Syracuse. While in Syracuse, Ripich used the da Vinci system to perform numerous surgeries, and he recently joined CMC to help start the robotics surgery program.

“We had an opportunity to recruit a very experienced da Vinci surgeon, Dr. Greg Ripich, to the community, and certainly, the timing was right,” Turner said. “This is something we’ve talked for a number of years, and it just seemed like everything lined up.”

Ripich said he values da Vinci for the advanced abilities it provides, and Turner said he values what it can provide for patients and CMC as a whole.

“It matters to me because it’s all about our patients, and we need to take exceptional care of our community, and having this service available right here without people having to leave our community for care is very important for us,” Turner said.

Turner spoke highly of Ripich, saying that the surgeon demonstrates a kind of expertise that is invaluable to his department.

“He’s very proficient,” Turner said. “He hit the ground running, and he helped work with other members of our team to really get them trained. … It’s amazing how quickly … we got it up and running and got it in surgery.”

In addition to performing surgery, Ripich teaches and proctors training in robotic surgery. He said that he is grateful for the chance to teach on the da Vinci system.

“I really enjoy leading that role,” he said. “It’s been an excellent experience.”
The da Vinci system has the added benefit of being an effective recruitment tool, Turner said.

“A lot of surgeons are trained on da Vinci and robotics, so this gives us an opportunity for future recruitment to also have the da Vinci here,” he said.

Feedback from the patients so far has been mostly positive, Ripich said.

“Most patients appear to be taking less pain medication afterward to not at all,” he said. “[They have] faster recovery, faster return to work, less time in the hospital.”

Turner echoed that sentiment, adding that patients like the benefit of the option that’s available right where they live.

“Patients want to understand all the options when it comes to general surgery, and … the fact that we have expanded capabilities here with the da Vinci, we can certainly talk about a lot of possibilities for general surgery,” he said. “People like to get the care that can be provided in our community done here.”

The da Vinci Xi was developed by Intuitive, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery. Turner said the da Vinci system represented a “pretty significant investment” for CMC but that it was well worth it. He said that, “into the foreseeable future,” CMC will be using da Vinci.