Healing with robots: Dignity Health Mercy General performs Sacramento’s 1st robotic Whipple surgery
MAJOR STEP IN CANCER TREATMENT. FOR THE FIRST TIME, DOCTORS WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE A MINIMALLY INVASIVE CANCER SURGERY WITH HELP FROM A ROBOTIC SURGICAL PLATFORM. JOINING US THIS MORNING TO TALK ABOUT THIS REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT IS DOCTOR SMITH. SINGLA. DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. WE APPRECIATE IT. SURE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. EXPLAIN THIS THIS PROCEDURE. SO WHIPPLE PROCEDURE IS ALSO CALLED AS PANCREATIC OR DUODENUM. IT’S A COMPLEX SURGICAL PROCEDURE PERFORMED FOR CERTAIN CANCERS, SUCH AS CANCER OF THE HEAD OF THE PANCREAS. FIRST PART OF THE SMALL INTESTINE CALLED DUODENUM. CERTAIN BILE DUCT CANCERS, CANCERS OF THE AMPULLA, AND ALSO FOR BENIGN CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES LIKE PANCREATITIS AND CERTAIN PANCREATIC CYSTS. IT’S A COMPLEX PROCEDURE, BUT BECAUSE IT ENTAILS A LONG INCISION, PATIENTS TEND TO HAVE LONGER RECOVERY, HIGHER RISK FOR COMPLICATIONS. IT ENTAILS TWO PARTS. FIRST PART WE TAKE OUT SOME ORGANS, SUCH AS THE PART OF THE HEAD OF THE PANCREAS, THE SMALL INTESTINE, THE GALLBLADDER, LYMPH NODES, MAYBE PORTION OF THE STOMACH AS WELL. AND THE SECOND PART ENTAILS RECONSTRUCTING EVERYTHING, JOINING THE ORGANS TOGETHER SO THAT THE FOOD AND THE DIGESTIVE JUICES FLOW THROUGH THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. BUT HOW SIGNIFICANT IS IT THAT NOW THIS IS ABLE TO BE DONE WITH A ROBOTIC ARM? CERTAINLY, TRADITIONALLY BIG INCISIONS, YOU KNOW, MORE PAIN, LONGER RECOVERY, MORE RISK OF COMPLICATIONS. I THINK IT’S A MAJOR LEAP FORWARD IN TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO THIS MINIMALLY INVASIVE. SO INSTEAD OF LONGER INCISIONS, WE ARE PUTTING IN SMALLER INCISIONS. TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, ONE THIRD OF AN INCH. SO PATIENT MAY HAVE LIKE THREE OR 4 OR 5 INCISIONS. WE ARE USING VERY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, THE ROBOTIC PLATFORM, TO DO THESE PROCEDURES. SO LESS SHORTER STAY QUICKER RECOVERY EARLY RECOVERY AND BACK TO THE NORMAL AGAIN. AND WE’RE LOOKING AT SOME VIDEO OF THE TECHNOLOGY. DOES THE TIME OF THE PROCEDURE CHANGE AS WELL. SO WHEN WE STARTED DOING THESE ROBOTIC PROCEDURES THEY WERE QUITE LONG, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM 6 TO 8 HOURS. SURE. THE TRADITIONAL OPEN WHIPPLE’S PROCEDURE CAN ALSO TAKE A LONGER TIME. BUT OUR PATIENT WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT IN LESS THAN FIVE HOURS. SO AGAIN, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, MUCH MORE ERGONOMICS, MUCH MORE VISUALIZATION, BETTER PRECISION. ALL THESE THINGS ARE HELPING US AS WELL AS OUR PATIENTS AS WELL. SO TIME HAS COME DOWN. WHERE DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF THIS MAYBE PROCEDURE AND KIND OF THE FUTURE OF ROBOTICS IN MEDICINE? OH, EXCELLENT. I THINK THERE IS A HUGE POTENTIAL FOR US, ESPECIALLY WITH ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY, USE OF AI. YOU JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE THAT WHEN WE ARE DOING THESE PROCEDURES, THE VISUALIZATION HAS IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY. WE HAVE A HIGH DEFINITION 3D CAMERAS, MUCH MORE PRECISION, MUCH MORE ERGONOMICS FOR SURGEONS, FOR PATIENTS, BETTER PAIN CONTROL, QUICK RECOVERY, SHORTER STAY. WHAT IT MEANS TO US IS AS WE MOVE FURTHER AND FURTHER, WE CAN PUSH THE BOUNDARIES IN THE OPERATING ROOM AND IT WILL REALLY HELP OUR PATIENTS IN THE SHORT TERM AND THE LONG TERM. ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS? YES. THERE ARE. AGAIN, THESE ARE VERY COMPLEX PROCEDURES. CHALLENGING PROCEDURES. RISK OF COMPLICATIONS ARE HIGHER. YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE PANCREATIC LEAD BLEEDING, BLOOD CLOTS. THERE ARE SHORT TERM COMPLICATIONS AS WELL AS LONG TERM COMPLICATIONS. BUT OVERALL MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE LESSER COMPLICATIONS AS COMPARED TO THE OPEN PROCEDURES. WELL, IT IS EXCITING STILL TO BE THE VERY FIRST. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE THIS MORNING. WE APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL R
Healing with robots: Dignity Health Mercy General performs Sacramento’s 1st robotic Whipple surgery
Updated: 11:58 AM PDT Aug 5, 2025
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A Sacramento hospital is breaking new ground in cancer treatment.Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital has made history as the first in the region to successfully perform a robotic-assisted Whipple procedure—a highly complex surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer and other abdominal diseases. The operation, conducted on July 11 by surgical oncologist Dr. Smit Singla with help from Dr. Subhash Patil, uses cutting-edge robotic technology to dramatically improve patient outcomes.The Whipple procedure, or pancreaticoduodenectomy, is widely regarded as one of the most intricate surgeries in abdominal medicine.It involves removing the head of the pancreas along with parts of the digestive system, including the bile duct and gallbladder. What makes the robotic-assisted version special? Precision. Using the da Vinci Surgical System, surgeons can operate through small incisions with unparalleled accuracy, reducing typical surgical challenges.While this approach is gaining recognition, it’s still rare. Between 2004 and 2017, fewer than 400 robotic Whipple surgeries were reported nationwide. Mercy General Hospital has now joined an elite group of advanced medical centers—becoming only the second in Northern California to offer this innovative technique.Singla joined KCRA 3 to discuss the procedure. Click the video above to watch the full interview.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
A Sacramento hospital is breaking new ground in cancer treatment.
Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital has made history as the first in the region to successfully perform a robotic-assisted Whipple procedure—a highly complex surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer and other abdominal diseases.
The operation, conducted on July 11 by surgical oncologist Dr. Smit Singla with help from Dr. Subhash Patil, uses cutting-edge robotic technology to dramatically improve patient outcomes.
The Whipple procedure, or pancreaticoduodenectomy, is widely regarded as one of the most intricate surgeries in abdominal medicine.
It involves removing the head of the pancreas along with parts of the digestive system, including the bile duct and gallbladder.
What makes the robotic-assisted version special? Precision.
Using the da Vinci Surgical System, surgeons can operate through small incisions with unparalleled accuracy, reducing typical surgical challenges.
While this approach is gaining recognition, it’s still rare.
Between 2004 and 2017, fewer than 400 robotic Whipple surgeries were reported nationwide.
Mercy General Hospital has now joined an elite group of advanced medical centers—becoming only the second in Northern California to offer this innovative technique.
Singla joined KCRA 3 to discuss the procedure.
Click the video above to watch the full interview.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
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