Welcome MARS! New Robot joins MIS team

January 13, 2025

A new robot has joined Stanford’s Minimally-Invasive Surgery Team. Starting last week, Magnetic Assisted Robotic Surgery or MARS will assist on bariatric and gallbladder surgeries.

“It’s very different robot from the current one,” said Dr. Dan Azagury, Chief of Stanford’s Minimally-Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Section referring to the DaVinci robot. “[MARS] is essentially an assistant robot. It will hold the camera for you, but more importantly, the other arm of the robot hold a magnet this allows us to reduce the number of incisions we use in laparoscopic procedures.”

According to Levita, which makes MARS, magnetic surgery has been shown to reduce pain, improve cosmetic results, and lead to faster recovery times.

“We place a metal grasper inside the body, and that is manipulated with the robotic arm from the outside of the body,” said Azagury. “It’s pretty cool!”

Stanford’s MARS robot is the first of this kind on the West Coast. It’s also the first time in the world that trainees (both residents and fellows) were able to use it.

(L to R) General Surgery Resident Dr. Lia Delaney, Bariatric/MIS Chief Dr. Dan Azagury, Levita CEO Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, and a representative from Levato. This was the first time in the world that trainees were able to use the MARS robot.

Media Contact

Director of Communications

(650) 723-2301

rebaker@stanford.edu

Bio

As the Director of Communications for Stanford Surgery, Rachel Baker tells the stories of her department's faculty, staff, and trainees. With the help of an amazing team of content creators, she produces and curates original articles, photos, videos, graphics, and even podcasts.She works personally with each division, center, program, and lab within her purview to define their audience and reach their goals while maintaining a consistent brand voice. She hosts quarterly professional development workshops open to all AEM web authors--please email her if you'd like to join! She also offers both 1:1 and group education to faculty and residents on a variety of topics including media training, using social media to advantage, and presentation refinement. Rachel holds a Bachelor's degree in journalism with a focus on photography from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. A transplant from the DC-area, she still misses foliage and argyle but has happily adopted the official NorCal hobbies of visiting wineries, hiking local trails, and eating avocado.

About Stanford Surgery

The Stanford University Department of Surgery is dedicated to inventing the future of surgical care through:

• pioneering cutting-edge research,
• developing the next generation of leaders, and
• healing through incomparable surgical skills and compassion.

To learn more, please visit surgery.stanford.edu

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