Contact: Bethany Rundell; 786-662-4577

South Miami Hospital’s robotic surgery program will take center stage Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 4 p.m., when viewers of a live webcast will watch as gynecological oncologist Ricardo Estape, M.D., uses the daVinci robot to perform a hysterectomy.

The webcast, broadcast live from our home page at www.baptisthealth.net, will be narrated by gynecological oncologist Nicholas Lambrou, M.D.  Viewers also can choose to watch the procedure in Spanish. 

A hysterectomy is the removal of a woman’s uterus. Traditionally, hysterectomies are performed with a large incision in the lower part of the abdomen.

With the daVinci Robotic Surgical System, five small incisions are made in the abdomen.  A surgeon sits away from the operating table at a console, where he controls with his hands and feet the robotic arms inserted into the patient through the incisions. One of the arms operates a laparoscopic camera that helps the surgeon see a three-dimensional view inside the patient.  The other arms function as the surgeon’s own hands and wrists to remove tissue. 
         
Dr. Estape and Dr. Lambrou, who have performed more than 500 procedures combined using the daVinci robot, will perform the hysterectomy as part of Baptist Health South Florida’s effort to broadcast various surgeries and procedures on the web.
 
South Miami Hospital is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region. It also includes Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Mariners Hospital in the Upper Keys, Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Baptist Outpatient Services. Baptist Health Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm, supports services at all hospitals and facilities affiliated with Baptist Health.