By Judy Fortin
 
August 28, 2008
 
ATLANTA -- Tony Pouncey is being wheeled into the operating room at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta to have his cancerous prostate removed, but his doctor won't be the only one performing surgery. He'll have a robot as an assistant.
 
Surgeon Dr. Nikhil Shah is one of more than 3,400 surgeons in the U.S. trained to perform robotic surgery.
 
"You take away some of the impreciseness of the human hand. And I'm able to use my hands and control the instruments. But I'm able to do them more delicately," says Shah.
 
Not everyone qualifies for robotic surgery. For instance, you have to be a healthy weight. But compared with traditional surgery, Shah explained, patients report less pain, less blood lost and fewer side effects. Just what tony was hoping for.
 
Since I do a lot of exercise, I wanted to be back on my feet as quick as possible," says Pouncey.
 
While Tony's surgery was a success, the procedure was expensive, $15,000, and it's not always covered by insurance.
 
Southern Oregon has it's own robotic help. The Da Vinci Robot helps to perform surgeries at Providence Medford Medical Center. It's first surgery was performed in May of last year.