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Montreal hospital trains at CSTAR

     

Surgeons at London Health Sciences Centre were able to share their expertise in robotically assisted surgery when a team from the cardiac surgery program at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) came to learn at CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics).

While the da Vinci robot at the JGH was being used in other surgical sub-specialties such as urology and gynecology, cardiac surgery had not yet embarked on using it in their program.

Wanting to learn from the best, they came to London, Ont. to observe the da Vinci robot in use at London Health Sciences Centre, and get hands-on experience at CSTAR.

“CSTAR is known [for its knowledge of the robot],” says Dr. Felix Ma, a surgeon at the Jewish hospital.

During their visit, Ma and his team worked with Dr. Bob Kiaii, a surgeon and chair/chief of the division of cardiac surgery at LHSC who, in 2007, led Canada’s first totally endoscopic closed-chest robotic coronary artery bypass surgery on a beating heart. “We [CSTAR] have the most experience in Canada for robotic-assisted surgery,” says Dr. Kiaii. “Our team has performed over 300 cases.”

During their visit, the JGH team observed live cases in the operating room and worked in the lab at CSTAR, getting a chance to use the robot and learn its capabilities in cardiac surgery.

 

Dr. Bob Kiaii, surgeon and chair/chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery (second from left), demonstrates the da Vinci robot to visiting colleagues from the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

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