David B. Samadi, MD, Demonstrates Robotic Prostate Surgery During Live Webcast, August 13, 2008

Robotic prostate surgery enables quicker recovery. Join the Mount Sinai Medical Center's leading urology experts to discuss the effectiveness of open, laparoscopic, and robotic prostatectomies. The webcast features case video of live surgeries using the latest da Vinci® prostatectomy techniques. OR-LIVE Webcast Premiere on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 5:00 PM ET.

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 31, 2008

The Mount Sinai Medical Center and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. will offer a live webcast on OR-Live.com featuring David B. Samadi, M.D., Chief of Robotics and Minimal Invasive Surgery in the Department of Urology at Mount Sinai on August 13, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Dr. Samadi will explain case video of a robotic radical prostatectomy using the da Vinci S HD Surgical System. He will conduct a live question and answer session with viewers on the effectiveness of open, laparoscopic, and robotic prostate surgeries. Dr. Simon Hall, Chair of the Department of Urology and Director of the Barbara and Maurice A. Deane Prostate Health and Research Center at Mount Sinai will also participate on the panel.

"As a surgeon, robotic surgery enables me to remove the cancerous prostate from patients and help them return to a normal, healthy life," said Dr. Samadi. "Instead of two to three days of hospitalization and two months of recuperation typical with open prostate surgery, robotic surgery patients often go home the next day and resume normal activities within two weeks."

During the webcast, Dr. Samadi will discuss the benefits of a robotic-assisted prostatectomy as compared to open and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Robotic prostate surgery is made possible with highly magnified visual enhancement technology in a bloodless field. This allows for greater precision in cutting and suturing with far less trauma to surrounding tissue, delicate nerve sparing, minimal blood loss, reduced risk of infection, and faster recovery. Patients experience improved clinical outcomes and increased control over their bladders and sexual functions.

Dr. Hall specializes in urologic oncology and open surgical techniques, and collaborates with Dr. Samadi on the treatment of prostate cancer for many of his patients.

"I have seen the number of robotic prostatectomies increase among our patient population over the past couple of years and the benefits are quite clear," shared Dr. Hall. "These surgeries result in fewer immediate complications and quicker recovery than in an open procedure, especially in the hands of a skilled surgeon who performs a high volume of cases routinely."

The Procedure:
Dr. Samadi's robotic prostatectomy technique has evolved over the past 8 years -- starting with open surgery, moving to laparoscopy and finally to robotic surgery. Instead of making an 8" to 10" incision to remove a 2" prostate gland, Dr. Samadi's robotic prostatectomy surgery involves just five small "keyhole" incisions in the patient's abdomen, through which extremely fine instruments are inserted along with a miniscule camera that displays magnified two-dimensional images from inside the body onto a screen. The addition of the sophisticated da Vinci system transforms those images into 3D representations, which enables the surgeon's hand movements to be scaled, filtered, and incredibly precise. This eliminates the touch factor or tactile feedback necessary to perform open surgery.

During the webcast, Dr. Samadi will highlight his unique advanced surgical techniques while performing a da Vinci Prostatectomy] using the latest technology--the 4-arm da Vinci S Surgical System with high-definition 3D vision. The fourth robotic arm helps the surgeon by providing retraction to increase exposure of structures in the operative field. This arm also facilitates dissection by providing traction at the surgeon's control.

Surgeon Experience:
Dr. Samadi is a board-certified urologic surgeon trained in open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgery. He is one of the world's most experienced da Vinci surgeons with a record of high success. Dr. Samadi is one of the only surgeons in the country to have completed two fellowships: one in oncology (trained at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York) and the other in laparoscopy (trained at Henri Mondor Hospital in France).

Dr. Samadi has completed more than 1,350 da Vinci cases in his career and since his arrival at Mount Sinai a year ago, he has performed nearly 550 robotic operations. Dr. Samadi's robotic surgery program at Mount Sinai is unique for its ability to combine the advanced technology of robotics with the expertise of open and laparoscopic skills. For the series of surgeries performed at Mount Sinai, Dr. Samadi's patients experienced an average blood loss of 63cc with a T2 positive margin of 7%. Eighty-five percent of his patients were able to wear one surgical pad or less just three months after surgery. The average length of hospital stay was one day with minimal complications and positive outcomes.

This program is paid for by Intuitive Surgical, manufacturer of the da Vinci S HD Surgical System.

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center:
The Mount Sinai Medical Center includes The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,406-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical Center. Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic-science research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants. To learn more about Dr. Samadi and the Mount Sinai Medical Center, please visit http://www.roboticoncology.com or http://www.mountsinai.org.

About Intuitive Surgical, Inc.:
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG), headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the global technology leader in the emerging field of robot-assisted, minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Intuitive Surgical develops, manufactures and markets robotic technologies designed to improve clinical outcomes and help patients return more quickly to active and productive lives. The company's mission is to extend the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to the broadest possible base of patients. More information is available at http://www.intuitivesurgical.com and http://www.davincisurgery.com. Intuitive Surgical -- Taking surgical precision beyond the limits of the human hand™

About the da Vinci® Surgical System:
The da Vinci Surgical System is a sophisticated robotic platform designed to enable complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach. The da Vinci System consists of an ergonomic surgeon's console, a patient-side cart with four interactive robotic arms, a high-performance vision system and proprietary EndoWrist® instruments. Powered by state-of-the-art robotic technology, the da Vinci System is designed to scale, filter and seamlessly translate the surgeon's hand movements into more precise movements of the EndoWrist instruments. The net result is an intuitive interface with breakthrough surgical capabilities. By providing surgeons with superior visualization, enhanced dexterity, greater precision and ergonomic comfort, the da Vinci Surgical System makes it possible for more surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures involving complex dissection or reconstruction. This ultimately raises the standard of care for complex surgeries, translating into numerous potential patient benefits, including less pain, a shorter recovery and quicker return to normal daily activities.

The presentation described is for general information only and is not intended to substitute for formal medical training or certification. An independent surgeon, who is not an Intuitive Surgical employee, provides procedure descriptions. Intuitive Surgical trains only on the use of its products and is not responsible for surgical credentialing or for training in surgical procedure or technique. As a result, Intuitive is not responsible for procedural content. While clinical studies support the use of the da Vinci Surgical System as an effective tool for minimally invasive surgery, individual results may vary.

Intuitive®, da Vinci®, InSite® and EndoWrist® are registered trademarks of Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

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