First single-port thoracic procedure via da Vinci SP robotic system performed in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Another honor can be bestowed upon the name of da Vinci. Specifically, the da Vinci SP robotic system .

Brian Mitzman, MD, MS, FACS, FCCP, thoracic surgeon and Medical Director of Robotic Surgery at the University of Utah Department of Surgery, just performed the first single-port thoracic procedure using the robotic system.

“We are at the epicenter of robotic surgery,” Mitzman said. “Our surgeons are not only performing these procedures but also teaching other doctors at cancer centers around the country how to use this technology.”

Thoracic surgeries involve doctors cutting into a patient’s upper abdomen to repair damage in the lungs, heart, esophagus or diaphragm. With traditional surgery, these procedures would often utilize large incisions to allow doctors access t