Specially trained urologist makes robot work
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It's not just about the robot. Without a specially trained physician, the da Vinci surgical robot would be nothing more than a very expensive dust-gathering machine. That's why Backus Hospital not only invested in the technology, but also the training.
Earlier this year, T. Casey McCullough, DO, a board-certified urologist on the Backus Medical Staff, went to Paris for a six-month fellowship at the Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, a world-renowned institution for laparoscopy and urology.
"It was a tremendous learning experience," said Dr. McCullough, the only physician in eastern Connecticut to receive this training in laparoscopic and robotic surgery for benign conditions of the prostate and kidney.
The institute was the first to standardize and develop the laparoscopic prostectomy.
For this surgery, five small incisions are used, rather than one larger abdominal incision. The laparoscopic instruments are controlled by the da Vinci robotic surgical system, and using magnification, the prostate is dissected from the bladder and urethra and removed. The bladder and urethra are sewn together using the robotic instruments as well.
Dr. McCullough had to apply for the fellowship.
As of December, Dr. McCullough had performed six procedures - a mix of kidney and prostate surgeries.
"It is going great," he said.
Dr. McCullough said robotic prostate cancer surgery is becoming the standard across the nation, and it will likely be used more for gynecological and general surgical procedures as well. Other physicians on the Backus Medical Staff are currently training to use it.