Live from Rambam: Robotic Surgery Watched on the Big Screen
October 21, 2026 – Several dozen urology and uro-oncology specialists gathered recently at the Haifa International Convention Center to watch live broadcasts from Haifa. It wasn’t an NBA game or a Champions League match, but it drew cheers all the same.
On October 8, 2026, urology and uro-oncology specialists attending a professional meeting at the Haifa International Convention Center watched a live broadcast of surgery performed at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) using the da Vinci Surgical System. The meeting was organized by the Israeli Urologic Oncology Collaboration (IUOC), with Dr. Yuval Freifeld, Director of the Uro-oncology Unit at Carmel Medical Center, serving as conference chair and principal organizer.
The da Vinci Surgical System, a computer-assisted robotic platform, helps surgeons perform minimally invasive surgery and is increasingly used across surgical disciplines. During a high-precision cystectomy lasting several hours, surgeons used the system to remove a patient’s bladder while preserving her uterus and ovaries.
The procedure was performed by Professor Gilad Amiel, Director of Rambam’s Department of Urology, and senior physician Dr. Azik Hoffman.
High-resolution images of the surgical field captured by cameras mounted on the robotic arms of the da Vinci fascinated the audience. From a nearby console, the surgeon controls the robot’s arms to perform delicate surgical maneuvers.
Later, live surgical broadcasts were also transmitted from Haifa’s Bnai Zion Medical Center and Carmel Medical Center.
In Israel, approximately 300 to 350 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in females each year. The incidence rate in men is more than four times greater than in women.
