Albany Med surgeon joins Saratoga Hospital surgery remotely

Surgeons at Saratoga Hospital and Albany Medical Center worked together on a live operation from two different buildings, using the telepresence feature on Saratoga Hospital’s da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system. Dr. Anthony Cutry removed a patient’s gallbladder in the operating room in Saratoga Springs while Dr. Sandra DiBrito watched the same surgical view from Albany and talked with him and the operating room team in real time, the hospital said in a release reported Sunday, Sept. 27, by The Saratogian.

The hospital did not give the date of the surgery beyond saying it happened recently. Both physicians hold MD and PhD degrees. DiBrito is program director for the surgical residency at Albany Medical Center.

What happened in the operating room

The key points from the release, as reported by The Saratogian, are these.

• Cutry performed the robotic-assisted gallbladder removal at Saratoga Hospital, using the da Vinci 5.
• DiBrito joined remotely from Albany Medical Center through the robot’s telepresence software, seeing exactly what Cutry saw on the surgical display.
• The two surgeons and the Saratoga operating room staff could talk to each other throughout the procedure.
• The hospital described the case as a first that will improve patient care in the region, without saying whether it was a first for the hospital, the health system or the area.

Cutry said the feature lets surgeons “bring a colleague directly into the operating room virtually.” DiBrito said the same setup opens up new ways to teach surgical residents and share expertise across hospitals, and Dr. Gregg Meyer, a senior clinical and strategic adviser to the Albany Med Health System, said the technology fits the system’s goal of offering collaborative care across its hospitals.

What telepresence is, and what it is not

Telepresence here means a second surgeon can see and speak, not operate. In the case the hospital described, the robot’s instruments stayed under the control of the surgeon in Saratoga. That is different from telesurgery, in which a surgeon in another city moves the robot’s arms remotely. Intuitive, the California company that makes the da Vinci line, has demonstrated long-distance telesurgery with the da Vinci 5, according to trade press reports, but nothing in the Saratoga release describes that.

The practical value is a consult without travel. A surgeon who runs into something unexpected can bring in a colleague who specializes in that problem, and a residency director can watch and coach a case at another hospital without driving 35 miles up the Northway.

The robot and the hospital

Saratoga Hospital announced the da Vinci 5 in November 2025, according to NEWS10 and Saratoga TODAY. At the time the hospital said the system’s improved visualization, ergonomics and faster energy generator would shorten operations and make instrument changes smoother. Robotic-assisted surgery generally means smaller incisions, less pain, shorter stays and faster recovery, the hospital said. The Saratogian’s report says the hospital added the system in 2026; the November 2025 announcements put it a few months earlier.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the da Vinci 5 on March 14, 2024, according to Intuitive’s announcement. The company said the fifth-generation system has more than 10,000 times the computing power of its predecessor, the da Vinci Xi, and adds force feedback that lets surgeons feel pressure on tissue through the instruments. Intuitive also pointed to a sharper 3D imaging system, a console that lets surgeons sit fully upright, and software that records data from each case for later review. Those features were aimed at the surgeon at the console; telepresence extends the view to a colleague somewhere else.

The hospital at 211 Church Street is a member of the Albany Med Health System. Albany Medical Center and Saratoga Hospital finalized their affiliation in January 2017, a little over a year after announcing it in October 2015, the Times Union reported at the time. Under that arrangement each hospital kept its own board and staff while collaborating on services. One of the first joint projects was interventional cardiology in Saratoga, run with oversight from Albany Med specialists, according to the same report. Saratoga Hospital’s chief executive at the time, Angelo Calbone, told the paper the affiliation also helped recruit doctors who might have hesitated to join a small community hospital, and Albany Med said the two systems would eventually negotiate with insurers as a single entity. Jill VanKuren is now Saratoga Hospital’s president and CEO.

What patients should know

For people scheduling surgery at Saratoga Hospital, the announcement changes little day to day. A few practical points follow from what the hospital has said.

• Robotic surgery is a choice made with the surgeon. Patients can ask whether a procedure will be done robotically and why.
• A remote colleague joining by telepresence does not replace the operating surgeon, who remains in the room with the patient.
• Patients who want to know whether anyone outside the room will view their procedure can ask the surgical team before the day of surgery.
• General questions go to the hospital’s main line or to the surgeon’s office, which schedules the case.

Our read: the more interesting part of this release is teaching, not technology. Albany Medical Center trains surgical residents, and a residency director who can watch and coach a case in Saratoga without leaving Albany makes the smaller hospital part of that program in a new way. The hospital has not said how often it expects to use telepresence or for which procedures, and we will report that when it does.

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