Spokane surgeons teach Chinese doctors robotic surgery

First surgical robot in China

(Spokane, WA) - Beijing is a half a world away but that's not too far to travel for doctors wanting to learn innovative and advanced surgery skills that offer less pain, less blood loss, fewer side effects and shorter recoveries for patients. A surgical team - including two physicians from the People's Republic of China - is visiting Spokane's Sacred Heart Medical Center on December 11-13 for intensive training in robotic cardiac surgery.

Leland Siwek, MD, and his partner Branden Reynolds, MD, are leading the team that will demonstrate and instruct the Chinese doctors how to perform delicate heart surgeries using the state-of-the-art robotic cardiac technology. Dr. Siwek is one of only five doctors in the U.S. teaching colleagues how to perform minimally invasive cardiac surgeries using the da Vinci' robotic technology from Intuitive Surgical.

The Chinese physicians are that country's first robotic surgical team and have chosen Spokane to complete their training because of Dr. Siwek's and Sacred Heart's leading role in the development and use of robotic surgery. The Spokane team will also be traveling to China early in 2007 to assist and instruct during China's first robotic surgery.

Sacred Heart is the only medical center in the Eastern Washington/Idaho/Montana region to have advanced experience with the da Vinci' robotic equipment. A second robot was purchased earlier this year to enhance the Robotic Center of Excellence now located at Sacred Heart, serving patients from throughout the state and outlying areas.

Please join us for a news conference to meet the doctors and learn more about the innovative robotic surgery.

Who: Sacred Heart Medical Center
What: Chinese robotic surgical team visit
When: Tuesday, December 12, Noon
Where: The Heart Institute (Classroom, 2nd floor) 122 W. 7th Ave., Spokane, WA
Parking available in The Heart Institute garage (enter on 7th Avenue)

A Beta format videotape demonstrating a live robotic surgery will also be provided. Please feel free to call with any questions.

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