Fraser Health’s robotic surgical program is moving forward with the arrival of the da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system at Royal Columbian Hospital, funded by the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation.
Surrey Memorial Hospital will receive its robotic surgical system in the coming months.
When Italian painter and engineer Leonardo da Vinci sketched his first robot in the 15th century, he envisioned a complex system of cables, gears, and pulleys, capable of replicating human movements. Fast forward about 500 years and the da Vinci Xi is even more sophisticated than originally imagined—allowing surgeons at a console to operate remote-controlled robotic arms to perform laparoscopic surgery with added precision.
As part of Fraser Health’s regional robotic surgery program, the first da Vinci Xi system arrived at Royal Columbian Hospital on September 29, 2025. Once unwrapped and calibrated, it was escorted to Operating Room 11 in the new Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower. Go-live is scheduled for early 2026 to coincide with the opening of the new tower and to give clinicians enough time to train on the new system.
“I’m so excited for the doctors, clinical teams and patients of Fraser Health,” says Dr. Brian Yang, urologist and local department head of surgery at Royal Columbian Hospital. “This marks a quantum leap forward into the next generation of care for our patients in Fraser Health.”
With the aid of da Vinci, Dr. Yang and other surgeons will be able to perform intricate manoeuvres within the body with extreme precision, working from a surgeon console within the operating room. Patients may experience quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays.
The arrival of the da Vinci Xi marks a milestone for the regional robotics surgery program in Fraser Health. The Urology Department at Royal Columbian Hospital will be the first surgical specialty to utilize the system, followed by ear, nose and throat and thoracic surgery at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
“This advancement in surgical care in Fraser Health is possible thanks to generous gifts to the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation and Surrey Hospitals Foundation—which is also funding a da Vinci robotic system for Surrey Memorial Hospital.,” says Cindy Laukkanen, executive director, Surgery and Anesthesia Networks. “We are incredibly excited to see our vision of a regional robotic surgery program become reality, supporting surgeons and patients for years to come.”
