This month, Department of Surgery Associate Professor Jamie Cannon, M.D., broadcast a live, robotic rectal cancer surgery to the Robotics Symposium at the 2022 Annual American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) Meeting in Washington, D.C.

As an interactive session, in-person attendees could see a large screen of Cannon’s operating field, and Cannon was able to send audio and video in from the operating rooms in Birmingham. She used a headset so a conference moderator could interact with her and relay questions from attendees for a live question and answer session.

Cannon notes that hosting this event was a UAB team effort–from support staff, to administration, to IT support–and is grateful to all of those who helped make this event happen.

“UAB and the UAB Department of Surgery received national and international recognition as a leaders in robotic surgery and robotic education,” said Cannon. “It was an excellent opportunity to interact with other established surgeons, teach new techniques and share methods to improve clinical practice. I was happy to share some of our cutting-edge methods that are improving patient outcomes.”

The surgery was broadcast with the consent of the patient. For privacy protection, no identifying information or images of the patient were broadcast with the exception of the intraabdominal robotic operation.

“Our patient, who elected to participate in this opportunity, had a straightforward recovery and was discharged on post-operative day two,” said Cannon. “It was a wonderful experience to pair an educational opportunity for my fellow colleagues with an impactful surgical experience for our patient.”

Cannon has long been a pioneer in robotic colorectal resections. In 2020, Cannon performed her 1,000th robotic colorectal surgery. The meant she had performed more robotic colorectal resections than any other academic female surgeon in the world.

Cannon serves as the program director for the UAB Colorectal surgery Fellowship, and so is able to pass her expertise on to her fellows.

“Sharing best practice surgical methods–whether it be with my national colleagues or our residents and fellows training here at UAB–is a passion of mine,” said Cannon. “I look forward to playing a key role in continuing to develop colon and rectal robotic surgery innovations in the future.”