May 28, 2003
VUMC doctors perform first robotic surgery
Vanderbilt’s first robotic surgical procedure was performed in mid May by Dr. Joseph A. Smith Jr., William L. Bray Professor and Chair of Urologic Surgery. Smith used VUMC’s new $1 million-plus Da Vinci Surgical System, built by Intuitive Surgical, to perform a radical prostatectomy.
By Paul Govern