HAMILTON, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — What used to mean a long, painful recovery is now being redefined by technology at Community Memorial Hospital
The hospital is offering robotic spine surgery, joining its existing robotic knee program. It’s all part of a partnership between Dr. Nicholas Qandah, a neurosurgeon, and the Hamilton-based facility.
“Patients would spend a week or two in the hospital and have incisions close to 10 inches long. Now we’re doing the same surgery with minimally invasive incision on each side, maybe an inch, an inch and a half in size, and patients are going home the same day,” Qandah, DO, neurosurgeon of Central New York Brain and Spine Neurosurgery and the memorial hospital.
Qandah introduced the robot to the hospital in 2025 and now performs robotic spine surgery on patients each week.
The robot is used for a wide range of spine procedures.
“Whether it’s a small disk, disk replacement, artificial disk, spinal fusion, minimally invasive, disc replacement, fractures, kyphoplasty, we do it all,” said Qandah.
Focusing on precision and better patient outcomes.
“There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a patient who’s in pain or having neurological problems to go home and recover nicely and be able to get back with their grandkids and families and have fun summers,” said Qandah.
Qandah says it’s not just local patients that are going to CMH for robotic spine surgery, people are traveling from across the region, and even the state, including Albany and Saratoga, to take advantage of this technology.
“Patients are becoming more educated and want to be more involved in their care, and those are the most successful patients,” said Qandah.
Click here to learn more about robotic spine surgery.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR.