As a way to recognize its recent record-setting 2,000th robotic surgery, the Rocky Mountain Robotics Institute invites the public to learn more about robotic surgery by following live Twitter broadcasts during two real-time surgeries.

Surgeons for the robotics institute, which is part of Poudre Valley Health System, will perform a hysterectomy starting at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, and a prostatectomy beginning at noon January 13 at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.

The public can follow the live surgeries by going to www.pvhs.org/robo2k, to www.twitter.com/pvhsnews or by using the #robo2k hashtag on Twitter.

“We use social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to reach people who enjoy receiving health information in a unique way,” said Rulon Stacey, PVHS president and CEO. “People are curious about what goes on in the operating room, and this is a great opportunity to be there virtually and learn in real time from the experts.”

Prior to the January 11 surgery, Stacey will conduct a live web chat from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. to respond to questions about health care. The public can join the chat and submit questions at www.pvhs.org/robo2k, or in advance via email to pvhs@pvhs.org or via Twitter @pvhsnews.

PVHS launched its robotic surgery program in late 2004, making the health system one of the earliest pioneers in the Rocky Mountain West to use a then-revolutionary surgery that today has become common in many of the nation’s hospitals. The Rocky Mountain Robotics Institute offers robotic surgeries in gynecology, urology, and general and thoracic surgeries. It’s also the only one in the state to offer the thoracic robotic specialty.

Stacey pointed out that the 2,000 surgeries is the highest number of robotic procedures performed in Colorado and about 1,000 more surgeries than any other healthcare organization in the state.

“If people want to find an excellent robotic surgery facility in the region, we advise them to ask about the number of performed surgeries—the higher the means more experience for the surgeons and typically better outcomes,” Stacey said. “We also recommend that people come to PVHS for robotic surgery because of the experience of our surgeons.”

Two surgeons who founded the PVHS program—Drs. Warren James and Stephen Brutscher—will each perform one of the surgeries to be covered by Twitter. Dr. James will do the January 11 surgery, while Dr. Brutscher will conduct the January 13 procedure.

Dr. James, a surgeon with the Women’s Clinic of Northern Colorado, was the first to perform gynecological robotic surgery in Colorado. He is approaching his 500th robotic procedure, which will place him among the most experience robotic gynecological surgeons in the Rocky Mountain West.

During the surgeries, members of the robotic institute’s clinical team and the PVHS marketing department will post live tweets based on information communicated from the surgeons and their surgical teams. The public will be able to tweet in questions about robotic surgery and receive replies as the surgeries happen.

--PVHS--