As of earlier this year, the $1.5 million machine resembling a giant praying mantis, became the first of its kind available in Hawaii. It provides better care for patients using minimally invasive (also known as laparoscopic) surgical techniques previously offered only in Mainland hospitals.

The da Vinci® Surgical System provides surgeons with an alternative to both traditional open surgery and conventional laparoscopy, putting the surgeon’s hands at the controls of a state-of-the-art robotic platform. The da Vinci system enables surgeons to perform even the most complex and delicate procedures through very small incisions with unmatched precision.

The robot can be used for prostatectomy and other urological surgeries, hysterectomies and other gynecologic surgeries, heart valve repair, thorascopic surgeries, gastrointestinal and esophageal surgeries and gastric bypass.

Chou completed a fellowship in California that focused on laparoscopic and robotic surgery in 2003 and came to Hawaii to help a local program get started. It took a few years to get the equipment, but now that the da Vinci robot is here, Chou has had phenomenal success using the robot in his own patient surgeries.

"The da Vinci robot has revolutionized the way we do pelvic surgery in patients with prostate cancer," he says, adding that there are strict regulations for certification to use the robot in surgery. "When I first came to Hawaii, we were a couple years behind what was happening on the Mainland. With this type of surgery, traditionally, you have to make a large incision, but with the robot, you only have a few dime-sized incisions."

Chou, who is also one of the instructors for Intuitive Surgical, the company that makes the da Vinci robot, says that as of this year, about 60 percent of prostate surgeries are going to be performed robotically and only 40 percent will be using traditional surgery methods. And the numbers of robotic surgeries will only continue to increase in following years.

"It’s a complete paradigm shift in terms of how we approach prostate cancer now," he says. "It’s still a controversial topic, actually, but prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers for men. One of seven men will get it in their lifetime."

For patients who opt for da Vinci surgical robot procedures, there are many benefits.

In addition to significantly less pain, blood loss and scarring, there is also a shorter recovery and hospitalization time, a faster return to normal daily activities and, in many cases, better clinical outcomes.

Chou also says, for example, that patients with urologic conditions and prostate cancer regain normal continence and sexual health (which is often an issue) much sooner than traditional, more invasive surgical techniques.

In addition to the benefits to the patient, the surgeon also benefits from magnified, 3D visualization of the operating field, improved illumination, intuitive movement, tremor filtering, telemonitoring and six degrees of movement using the robotic arm.