Two surgeons from the USC Institute of Urology were among the principal featured participants in a worldwide 24-hour live robotic surgery event held Oct. 26 at Keck Medical Center of USC and at 11 other leading robotic centers on every continent except Antarctica.

In all, more than 2,000 viewers from about 60 countries registered to participate in the event, which included surgeries performed in countries that also included Sweden, Belgium, Italy, France, Great Britain, Egypt, Brazil, India, South Korea and Australia.

At USC, the first surgery was performed by Inderbir S. Gill, MD, whose pioneering robotic “zero-ischemia” partial nephrectomy was broadcast live from Operating Room 15-16 on the fourth floor at Keck Hospital of USC. Gill is founding executive director of the USC Institute of Urology and chairman and professor, Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Later that morning, Mihir Desai, MD, performed a robotic radical cystectomy with intracorporeal orthotopic neobladder. Desai is professor of urology and director of urological robotic surgery at the Keck School.

For both procedures, the USC robotics team has the world’s preeminent experience. The surgeons narrated the procedures for viewers who watched via an online link, and they answered questions via Skype and on social media.

Later that evening, a four-hour studio session was held in Aresty Auditorium to further discuss robotic surgeries. The studio session featured lectures by Gill, Desai and by Andrew Hung, assistant professor of clinical urology, as well as Andre Abreu, a clinical fellow in urology. Professor of Clinical Urology Rene Sotelo presented his session via Skype while traveling to Miami.

Organizers included Microsoft and the European Association of Urology.

— Les Dunseith