Memorial’s chief of robotic surgery performs area’s first single site robotic hysterectomy

Dr. Donna Feldman has pioneered a new surgical procedure at Niagara Falls Memorial, performing the first single site robotic hysterectomy in Niagara County.

The procedure, which was performed earlier this month using the DaVinci robotic surgical system, is virtually scarless and can benefit women in several ways.

“Single-site robotic surgery, also known as single incision surgery, is a significant advance over minimally invasive hysterectomies requiring multiple incisions,” said Dr. Feldman, Memorial’s chief of robotic surgery. “The surgery is performed with one incision through the patient’s belly button, which leaves an almost invisible scar.”

Benefits for the patient can include less blood loss, fewer complications and shorter hospital stays than are experienced following vaginal or abdominal hysterectomies. Women who undergo a single-site hysterectomy often go home within a day of their surgery and are able to resume their normal activities in two weeks. 

“The typical recovery time is significantly quicker than that from a traditional hysterectomy,” Dr. Feldman said. “Robotic surgeries are more and more becoming the standard of care.”

Memorial introduced robotic surgery to the Greater Niagara Region in 2012. Its expert surgical team offers robotic procedures for hernia repair, abdominal reconstruction and other general surgeries including single incision gallbladder removal, as well as for benign and cancerous conditions in gynecology, urology, nephrology, colorectal and bariatrics.