A significant milestone was reached at St Vincent’s Private Hospital last week with leading colorectal surgeon and gastrointestinal endoscopist Dr Jayson Moloney performing his 100^th procedure using the da Vinci robotic technology.

It was appropriate that the milestone was reached in Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, which is the fourth most common type of newly diagnosed cancer and the second deadliest cancer in Australia.

Dr Moloney is part of a team of professionals that constitute the comprehensive, multi-disciplinary colorectal and gastrointestinal specialists who work at St Vincent’s Northside.

The introduction of robotic technology at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside in 2015 has enabled the minimally invasive approach for virtually all complex operations with all of the hospital’s colorectal surgeons hailing the da Vinci system for the great improvements that it enables in patient care and outcomes.

(The system is called "da Vinci" in part because Leonardo da Vinci’s study of human anatomy eventually led to the design of the first known robot in history. Incredibly, the Renaissance painter, sculptor and scientist sketched plans for a humanoid robot around 1495!)

Using the da Vinci system – an advanced robot-utilising technology first developed by NASA – Dr Moloney performed a left hemicolectomy (a procedure to remove one side of the colon) on a 72-year old female patient.