On Monday, February 13, 2023, Dr. Joseph Brady reached a milestone after completing the 1,000th robotic-assisted surgery of his career. A general surgeon at South County Health since 2017, Dr. Brady, achieved this milestone during a routine gall bladder surgery using the assistance of the da Vinci Xi Surgical System.

Specializing in gall bladder and hernia repair surgeries, Dr. Brady performed his first robotic-assisted surgery in 2015 and the first ever at South County Hospital on May 31, 2018, using the da Vinci Xi. Since 2018, 788 robotic-assisted surgeries have been completed by the expert general surgeons on South County Health’s medical staff, with 16.3% of all general surgery procedures performed at South County Hospital being robotic-assisted surgeries. In 2022, that number increased to 24.8% of all general surgery procedures, with 50.1% of Dr. Brady’s surgeries performed with the assistance of da Vinci Xi.

The most advanced, minimally invasive option for a variety of surgical treatments, the da Vinci Xi allows surgeons to perform procedures through smaller incisions in the skin than those made using open surgical techniques. Using the da Vinci robot, a device controlled by the surgeon, gives the surgeon four more “hands” that provide pinpoint accuracy in performing delicate surgeries. Research shows that patients who received surgery using the da Vinci system report several benefits in comparison to open surgery including: a shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, less pain and need for narcotic pain medicine, as well as fewer complications with less risk of infections.

Robotic-Assisted Surgery at South County Health

At South County Hospital, six (6) minimally invasive robotic surgeons are da Vinci Xi trained to perform a variety of surgeries including: urological, colorectal, gynecologic, and general surgery. Additionally, through a partnership with expert surgeons from Ortho Rhode Island and the opening of the Center for Advanced Orthopedic Surgery at South County Hospital, South County Health is a worldwide leader in Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery for hip and knee replacements, with more than 13,000 procedures to date. In 2019, South County Hospital’s operating rooms were the first in the state to utilize ExcelsiusGPS, a navigation-guided, robotic-assisted system for spine surgery.