By SCOTT AUST / Greater Garden City
Following a ceremony announcing Community Health Improvement grant recipients, St. Catherine Hospital offered an open house allowing the public to tour the hospital and various departments as well as see some new technology first-hand.
One of those new tech marvels is the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic platform for minimally invasive surgery that uses 3D-HD visualization and wristed instruments to enhance surgeon precision. It reduces trauma, pain, and recovery time through small incisions, typically featuring a surgeon console, patient-side cart, and imaging.
The surgeon sits at a console, viewing a 3D image while maneuvering master controls using their hands and foot pedals. These movements are translated into micro-movements of instruments attached to robotic arms on the patient-side cart.
Britte Magnuson, da Vinci representative, said this is the fourth-generation model of the system which has been developed over the past 30 years. He said it allows surgeons to work on a variety of soft tissue procedures, including gall bladder, hernias, appendix removal, colon resections and gynecological procedures.
“Anything from your neck to your pelvis. More and more, surgeons and hospitals are adapting robotics for the patient,” he said.
On Thursday, a man who had the opportunity to take the robot for a spin marveled at being able to pick up and manipulate a penny.
“I can’t even do that with my fingernails,” he said.
Magnuson said 60 procedures have been done using da Vinci at St. Catherine Hospital since it arrived in January.
“This allows more close up, more precise surgery,” he said. “It ultimately provides better vision, precision and control and you’ll have better clinical outcomes associated with that. So shorter length of stay, fewer complications, fewer readmissions.”
The use of small ports (3-4 ports) in robotic surgery means small incisions – 8 millimeters – compared to an open procedure. As a result, there are less chances of surgical site infections, less pain, and less blood transfusion, he said.
“Our surgeons are amazing,” he said.
The open house also included opportunities to tour the hospital; talk to team members; view the MagSeed/MagTrace system used in breast cancer treatment; tour the newly renovated Cardiac Catheterization Lab equipped with the latest imaging and diagnostic technology; and learn more about the ICU, Flight for Life, and other hospital services.
See related story at https://greatergardencity.org/2026/04/commonspirit-awards-community-health-improvement-grants-to-two-organizations/
