TAMPA, Fla. — BayCare’s St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital has introduced a robotic-assisted, nipple-sparing mastectomy procedure for eligible patients diagnosed with breast cancer, and those who are at high risk for developing the disease.

BayCare breast surgical oncologist Dr. Robert Gabordi, who is is one of only 10 surgeons in the nation trained in the technology, said the procedure benefits surgeons and patients. 

“So, for patients, it’s smaller incisions, better cosmesis and can potentially retain sensation, which was never possible before,” Gabordi said. “For the surgeons, it’s improved ergonomics, dexterity and all the things that I really need to do through a small space. That’s not possible without a robot.”

Kim Kirtley, 50, was the first patient to undergo the procedure at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital. Kirtley said she found a small lump in January and was later diagnosed through testing with triple-negative breast cancer. Kirtley chose the robotic-assisted procedure, which included a plastic surgeon as part of the operation.

“There was a question about whether I would be able to go direct to reconstruction or not, but they were able to do it all in one surgery,” Kirtley said. “So, I don’t have to go back for multiple surgeries, which is another huge benefit of this procedure and this technology.”

Gabordi said the technology helps patients heal physically and mentally.

“We really want smaller and smaller incisions and being able to optimize cosmesis, not just because there’s hope that the sensation would be retained, but these are our constant reminders for women that they had cancer and they had an operation,” he said.

Kirtley is about a month post-surgery and has returned to Pilates as she works to regain strength.

“I just hope to get back to my normal self,” she said. “It’s been a long journey. It’s been a scary diagnosis. And I hope that by returning to the studio, I start to feel more and more like myself every day. That I feel stronger every day.

“It makes me feel like the cancer journey is finally behind me, and that I can start regaining my power again.”

A mother of two girls, Kirtley also earned her law degree while undergoing cancer treatment and passed the bar exam the same week as her last chemotherapy treatment. A $400,000 contribution from the St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation helped support the implementation of the new technology.