Piedmont Healthcare hits major technology milestone

ATLANTA — Piedmont Healthcare just hit a major milestone when it comes to technology advancing medicine.

They recently performed their 15,000th robotic surgery, and this week Channel 2 Action News Anchor Craig Lucie met the robotic surgery director and one of his patients, who happens to be from a very famous family.

Otis Redding III’s father, the late Otis Redding Jr., was well-known for his top hits including "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay."

Lucie and Redding III talked about music and that life-changing moment when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“Any time you hear the word you have a life-threatening disease like cancer, it gets to you mentally,” Redding III said.

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Redding III was, of course, scared. But his doctor at Piedmont Atlanta shared these words: “He said, ‘It’s just a bump in a road.’ I was, like, ‘Sure, just a bump in the road,’” said Redding III.

But it turns out, it was.

“It’s an amazing time in medicine. It really is! Technology is really taking over,” said urologist Dr. Rajesh Laungani.

Laungani is the director of robotic invasive surgery at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, where they are celebrating their 15,000th robotic surgery.

“We are one of the largest multi-disciplinary programs in the country,” Laungani said.

Piedmont Atlanta has three surgical robots that can cost upward of $2 million each.

“You’ve got small instruments that are the diameter of my pinky where you are doing fine dissection, and you can see the view is different than how it used to be,” Laungani said.

With doctors controlling the robots, it means less recovery time, less pain, smaller incisions, minimal blood loss and news like this:

“Essentially, with that lab test being zero, we consider you cancer-free,” Laungani told Redding III.

Redding III replied, “I think it’s amazing.”

Now Redding III is back doing what his dad taught him best: Singing old and new hits.

Piedmont Healthcare does about 3,500 robotic surgeries per year, which makes them one of the top leaders in the field.

Laungani said many patients are out of the hospital in less than 24 hours.

He also explained how the robots are also used for heart surgeries, transplant surgeries and many other procedures.

Cox Media Group