Groundbreaking robotic surgery has Victoria man back on his bike in 2 weeks

Groundbreaking robotic surgery has Victoria man back on his bike in 2 weeks

Published 5:30 am Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Surgeon and urologist Dr. Michael J Metcalfe had a sinking feeling every time he presented patients with a dilemma: they could either undergo surgery close to home but face higher risks, or travel to Vancouver – or even the U.S. – and endure longer wait times but benefit from safer, robot-assisted procedures.

“Every time I had that conversation, I just had knots in my stomach. It didn’t feel right always to have to put that decision on patients.”

Coming from a family of urologists, Metcalfe was surprisingly close to robotic surgery early on in his career: his mother, while leading a hospital foundation in Edmonton, helped raise money for robotic equipment while he pushed through medical school. Later at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he sub-specialized in urological oncology and robotic surgery.

He’d seen firsthand how robotics improves accuracy, visualization, reproducibility, and puts less demand on the health-care system.

So, while working in Victoria – and knowing that open surgery had made little progress in 20 years – he joined Dr. McCracken and Dr. McAuley to spearhead a mission to get robotics to the region.

He got connected with Avery Brohman, CEO of the Victoria Hospital Foundation, and it was a success. The foundation raised $17 million, launched the Island’s first surgical robotics program out of Royal Jubilee Hospital, and on Feb. 3, the da Vinci surgical robot assisted in its first surgery.

Now, the foundation is in phase 2, raising money for two new surgical robots at Victoria General Hospital: a da Vinci, the same as what’s currently in place at Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH), and a neuro-robot which will help treat brain and spine disorders.

Metcalfe says it’s been great having the da Vinci at RJH, but due to its success, it’s in very high demand. “Now we’re all squabbling over time, and I’m having to make a decision on which patient deserves the robot and which can wait,” he said.

The campaign’s new aim is to raise $21 million and put Victoria on the map as one of the few centres in Canada with this advanced technology.

The draw is the benefits: for the neuro-robot, Mazor X, one study found a nearly six times lower risk of surgical complications, and clinical studies show typically above 98 per cent accuracy for brain and spine procedures.

The da Vinci surgical robot would expand minimally invasive care across gynecology, pediatrics and general surgery.

Never fearful: Victoria patient shares experience with robotic-assisted surgery

It would also help high-risk patients such as Gerald Kersten, who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent robotic surgery in the summer.

Kersten was a perfect candidate: with a rare blood-clotting disorder, open surgery can be incredibly dangerous for him. His blood thinners mean he runs the risk of bleeding too much; if he goes off them, he faces the risk of embolisms, strokes or heart attacks.

What makes the da Vinci-assisted surgery so much safer is it works through “tiny little half-inch stab wounds” rather than a large incision, Kersten explained.

Once he understood how it worked, there was no second-guessing on his part about whether or not to go through with it.

“You know, it’s funny, I never had that fearful moment,” he said. “I think the confidence came from the attentiveness of the people around me that were doing diagnostics, the doctors, the hospital system.”

What was additionally beneficial was the quick recovery time. “Patients are getting back to their lives quicker, better,” said Dr. Metcalfe.

Prior to surgery, Kersten, an orthodontist, worried about how long his recovery would take and when he would return to work and exercise. After the robotics-assisted surgery, he was back seeing his patients within 10 days, and two weeks later, he was on his bike. In six weeks, he was cycling on his dream trip to Italy.

“It’s amazing, because in most cases, it would have been six to eight weeks before I could have gone back to work,” he said. “I think most people are surprised at how fast I was back on my feet.”

These advancements in Victoria are coming at a time when cancer cases are projected to rise – BC Cancer says the demand for cancer care in B.C. is expected to rise by 60 per cent in the next decade. “Statistically, with our aging population and people living longer, the chances of someone escaping some sort of surgery later in their life is smaller than it used to be,” Kersten said.

“And if it can be robotically done, they’re going to be much better off.”

The Victoria Hospitals Foundation has launched its campaign with the largest gift in its 36-year history: a $7.5 million matching donation from a local philanthropist.

More info on this campaign can be found at www.victoriahf.ca.