Minimally Invasive Surgery

20,000 Robotic Surgeries - 20,000 Lives Touched by Innovation

St. Peter's Hospital was the first hospital in the Capital Region to begin using the da Vinci® Surgical System in 2004. Together with Samaritan Hospital, our teams reached 20,000 robotic surgeries in August 2022. St. Peter's is ranked No. 26 in the world among hospitals using da Vinci robots.

St. Peter's is proud to celebrate this milestone and to serve as one of the nation's leaders in robotic surgery. Through minimally invasive techniques, we are helping patients get back to the lives they love, faster.

Congratulations to the entire team of highly skilled health care professionals on this rare achievement and thank you for all you do!

Minimally Invasive Center of Excellence

St. Peter's Health Partners' minimally invasive surgical team is a leader in the region as a center of excellence in advanced endoscopic, laparoscopic, robotic, and interventional radiology procedures.

We offer minimally invasive surgery options at St. Peter's Hospital and Samaritan Hospital. Patients have access to board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeons specializing in the most up-to-date techniques.

This means we have expert, world-class care, right here at home. If you need surgery, you want a surgeon and medical team that specializes in advanced techniques and performs complex procedures day in and day out.

St. Peter's and Samaritan Hospitals perform the greatest number of robotic procedures in the Capital Region with St. Peter's Hospital ranking in the top 1% of total robotic surgery volume across more than 2,400 hospitals in the United States.

What is Minimally Invasive Surgery?

There are many surgery options available to patients.

"Open surgery" involves using large incisions to perform a "hands-on" procedure. This form of surgery is being used less and less often, though it is still necessary for certain patients and conditions.

"Minimally invasive surgery" is a term used for surgical approaches that enable even very complex operations to be performed with the least amount of trauma or damage to the body. Performed through small incisions using tiny, high-resolution cameras and specialized surgical instruments, these approaches offer greater surgical precision and, in turn, great benefits to patients.

We use the newest technology to offer a full range of minimally invasive procedures to patients, including advanced endoscopy, robotic surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and interventional radiology. Although "minimal" is in the name, some of these procedures are still major surgery with the potential for serious complications. In some cases, the risks may be lower.

What are the Benefits of Minimally Invasive Surgery?

Less blood loss
Less pain and scarring
Less risk of infection or complications
Shorter hospital stays
Faster recovery times
Improved clinical outcomes

Find a Minimally
Invasive Specialist

Call us

1-888-370-7809

and learn more about minimally invasive surgery at St. Peter’s Health Partners

What are the Types of Minimally Invasive Surgery?

Robotic Surgery

Robotic surgery is performed through several tiny surgical openings instead of large incisions associated with open surgeries.

During robotic surgery, the surgeon sits at a console controlling the instruments while viewing a magnified, high-definition, 3D view of the inside of the patient’s body. From the console, a surgeon’s hand, wrist, and finger movements are translated into smaller, more precise, real-time movements of the instruments attached to the robotic arms. The instruments can rotate more than 360 degrees through the tiny incisions. The surgeon's technique is enhanced by the da Vinci® robot's ability to scale motion and filter any tremor.

This surgical approach often results in better outcomes for patients. Compared to an open surgery, patients who have a robot-assisted surgery are likely to go home sooner; have less pain, scarring, and blood loss; and experience fewer complications, including post-surgical infections.

Some common procedures performed with robotic assistance include hysterectomies and procedures involving prostate cancer, breast cancer, cancer in the female urinary system, colon cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, and hernia repair.

Advanced Endoscopy

Advanced endoscopic surgery is performed with an endoscope — a thin, flexible, lighted tube with a tiny video camera on the end. It is usually inserted in the body through one small (one centimeter) incision at the site of a vein, or through a natural opening, like the mouth or rectum, avoiding the need for an incision. Specialized instruments can then be threaded through the endoscope to insert stents, drain fluids, take biopsies, treat or remove early cancers, clear arterial blockages, and more.

Our highly skilled, board-certified, and fellowship-trained advanced interventional endoscopists use these techniques for state-of-the-art diagnostics and cutting-edge therapeutic treatments.

Learn more about St. Peter's Advanced Endoscopy and Hepatobiliary Center.

Laparoscopic Surgery

Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical technique used in the abdominal and pelvic areas. Instead of requiring the six to 12-inch incisions of a traditional open surgery, this method uses several small incisions of a half-inch or less. Sometimes the procedure is called "keyhole surgery," referring to these little holes. The surgeon inserts long, thin, cylindrical instruments and a tiny video camera, called a laparoscope, into these incisions. The abdomen is inflated with carbon dioxide to create a larger working space for the surgeon.

Laparoscopy can be used to investigate conditions that develop inside the abdomen or pelvis, often called exploratory surgery. The surgeon can also take tissue samples for biopsy or testing, remove growths or blockages, or remove damaged or diseased organs, among other uses.

Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiology is a medical specialty using medical imaging guidance, including X-ray, CT scanning, and ultrasound, to help deliver minimally invasive, targeted treatments with a faster recovery. Other procedures are performed with a pinhole through the skin and into an organ being treated. All procedures are performed by board-certified physicians and come with less risk, less pain, shorter recovery times, and often with similar outcomes as traditional open surgery.

Interventional radiology is used to treat vascular conditions, stroke, many types of cancer, uterine fibroids, and other conditions virtually anywhere in the body, including the liver, kidneys, and gallbladder among other organs, with minimal discomfort and unprecedented precision.

Learn more about St. Peter's Interventional Radiology Clinic.