Children's Hospital Is One of the First to Use Robotic Surgery; Newly Recruited Surgeon Does First Case on September 27, 10 am

Business Wire, Sept 30, 2002

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BUFFALO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2002

The Children's Hospital of Buffalo is taking pediatric miniature access surgery to the next level -- with its debut of robotic surgery on September 27 at 10 a.m. Celeste Hollands, MD, a newly recruited surgeon at The Children's Hospital of Buffalo and robotics research pioneer, will perform surgery on two children using the latest technology.

The robotic surgery debut is part of a two day advanced training course in pediatric surgery hosted by the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and The Children's Hospital of Buffalo. Two dozen pediatric surgeons-in-training, from various institutions throughout North America and Canada, will watch a live telecast of the robotic surgery from the University at Buffalo.

According to Philip L. Glick, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief at The Children's Hospital of Buffalo and Professor of Surgery at the University at Buffalo, "We are very fortunate to have Dr. Hollands as a member of the Children's Hospital staff and the UB medical faculty. She is one of a few pediatric surgeons in the world to work extensively with robotics. Her work has been groundbreaking."

The use of robotics allows for absolute surgical precision while reducing physical tremor. At the same time, it affords access to the tiniest structures and other areas in babies and children. The robotic equipment was manufactured by Computer Motion Inc. (Nasdaq:RBOT), a leader in the industry.

According to Dr. Hollands, "The work we'll be doing here at Children's will be paving the way for other types of robotic surgeries. Eventually, we will find ways to use it to help very tiny infants and possibly even for surgery in the womb. I am very excited about the prospect of finding new and better ways to perform surgery on infants."

According to Dr. Glick, "It is a significant achievement for Buffalo to host this type of conference for pediatric surgeons. It says that Children's Hospital and the University at Buffalo are recognized as leaders in the field of miniature access surgery, research and training."

The two-day program is sponsored by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., Stryker Corporation, Computer Motion, Inc., Berchtold, B-K Medical Corporation, and LSI Solutions.

Miniature Access Surgery Center (MASC)

The MASC, located at The Children's Hospital of Buffalo, includes two state-of-the-art operating rooms fully equipped to perform multi-disciplinary miniature access surgery. The operating rooms are fully equipped for local, national and international telesurgeries.

Miniature Access Teaching, Training and Robotic Research Center (MAST2AR2)

MAST2AR2, located at the University at Buffalo South Campus, includes a state-of-the-art laboratory, which provides teaching, training and research to medical students, residents and fellows from a variety of surgical disciplines.

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