Robotic Surgery Program

Robotic surgery is a highly technical form of minimally invasive surgery. Your surgeon works from a console next to the operating table. Surgeons use finger controls and foot pedals to manipulate the robotic arms. Your surgeon’s wrist, hand, and finger movements are translated into fine movements of instruments at the tips of the robotic arms.

These instruments are much smaller than a surgeon’s hands and can work in confined spaces. The robotic technology cannot operate independently of the surgeon. 

At Emory Healthcare, our 34 da Vinci robotic surgery systems provide high-definition, 3D imaging with 10X magnification. This lets your surgeons visualize much greater detail than is possible with the naked eye. 

The system’s “dual consoles” allow two surgeons to operate collaboratively as needed.

Robotic surgery provides multiple benefits. You enjoy:

• Decreased blood loss
• Decreased postoperative pain
• Higher rates of organ preservation
• Improved lymph node dissections for cancer 
• Less invasive surgery, with smaller incisions
• Less scarring
• Lower risk of nerve injury 
• Shorter hospital stays

Our Robotic Surgery Program includes eight hospitals in metro Atlanta and Georgia. What started as a service to improve heart surgery at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital in 2002 has grown into a comprehensive, innovative program.

We perform more than 1,600 robotic surgery procedures a year. Types of robot-assisted surgery we offer include:

• Abdominal Wall Hernia (Stomach Surgery)
• Breast Surgery
• Cancer (Oncology) Surgery
• Colon and Rectal Surgery
• Ear, Nose & Throat or ENT (Otolaryngology) Surgery
• Endocrine Surgery
• Esophageal (Thoracic) Surgery
• General (Acute Care) Surgery
• Head and Neck Surgery
• Heart Surgery and Lung Resection (Cardiovascular and Cardiothoracic Surgery)
• Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) Surgery
• Hysterectomy (Gynecology and Urogynecology Surgery)
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• ION Endoluminal Robotic Bronchoscopy
• Obesity (Bariatric) Surgery
• Oral Tumor Surgery
• Prostatectomy and Kidney (Urology Surgery)
• Transplant Surgery

Emory’s robotic surgery program provides care from a highly specialized team, including:

• Anesthesiologists 
• Data analysts and administrators
• Nurses
• Physician assistants
• Physicians
• Surgeons
• Surgical technicians 

Our team received additional education and training in robotic surgery systems, focusing on patient safety. To ensure you get the most advanced care, we evaluate and modify your treatment plan based on the best practices for your health condition.

Robotic surgery began in the mid-1980s when NASA developed telepresence surgery. The goal was to give a surgeon (in a separate location from the patient) the sense of operating directly on the patient. 

To decrease wartime mortality, the U.S. Army expanded the technology in the 1990s. It worked to virtually bring a surgeon’s abilities to a wounded soldier on the battlefield. Robot surgery technologies were blended with minimally invasive surgery. This simplified complex procedures with the help of computers and mechanics.

At Emory Healthcare, our robotic surgery teams are recognized for providing outstanding robotic surgical services. We are a:

• National leader in transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for oral tumors.
• National leader in urologic oncologic surgery, including robotic cystectomy for bladder cancer.
• Training center for robotic surgeons from other hospitals throughout the United States and abroad.
• Training center for resident surgeons learning robotic surgery in varied surgical disciplines.
• Academic Total Program Observation (TPO) site, one of two in the country, hosting hundreds of U.S. and international healthcare leaders each year who want to learn from Emory's da Vinci surgery program.

Emory surgeons serve as trainers, proctors and advisors, helping shape surgeon education and residency training programs across the country and internationally. 

Emory clinicians regularly share their expertise through national forums, industry events —  including Becker's, ACS, SAGES and Intuitive 360 — and webinars reinforcing the health system's reputation as a leader in surgical innovation.

We provide ongoing collaboration for innovative initiatives, including the use of Intuitive Telepresence, to help standardize da Vinci surgery practices across the health system.