Starr Regional Medical Center Unveils New Surgical Robot

New equipment for surgeons can provide greater precision during surgery, faster recovery, and fewer complications for patients

Starr Regional Medical Center announced an addition to its surgical services offerings today with the purchase of a new surgical robot. The da Vinci surgical system, located tableside in the operating room, is designed to help surgeons perform minimally invasive surgery and allows a surgeon's hand movements to be scaled, filtered, and translated into precise movements of micro-instruments at the surgical site.

“At Starr Regional Medical Center, we're committed to providing innovative and safe alternatives to traditional open surgery, whenever possible,” said John McLain, Chief Executive Officer at Starr Regional Medical Center. “Whether we're using robotic-assisted technology or other minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques we want you to explore and understand all of your options knowing that we are prepared to care for you every step of the way.”

The da Vinci surgical system offers surgeons magnified, high-resolution, three-dimensional views to enable him or her to perform precise and complex surgery through very small surgical incisions. The surgeon is 100% in control of the robotic system. The 3D-HD image can be magnified up to 10 times so the surgeon has a close-up view of the area he or she is operating on, and the robotic instruments have mechanical wrists that bend and rotate to mimic the movements of the human wrist – allowing your surgeon to make small, precise movements inside your body.

Nicholas Ballay, MD, a general surgeon who has trained in minimally invasive and robotic surgery shared: “We are very excited about the addition of the da Vinci robotic system to the portfolio of surgical offerings at Starr Regional Medical Center. Not everyone is a candidate for robotic surgery, however, and patients should consult with their doctor about the best surgical method for them individually.”

To become skilled in robotic surgery, a surgeon must complete specific training protocols including online didactics training; in-person classes; assisting in at least 10 bedside cases, where they can gain additional hands-on skill with the robot and its instrumentation; and proficiency in at least 20 “console” cases, meaning that the surgeon is fully completing an operation using the robot.

McLain identified that this technology is part of an ever-growing strategy to add robotics options to Starr Regional Medical Center’s portfolio of surgical opportunities and that this robot joins the orthopedics robotic guidance system that was installed in December 2020.

To learn more about robotic-assisted surgery at Starr Regional Medical Center, please visit the Robotic-Assisted Surgery page.

Images ©2025 Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.