Within 12 hours of having his prostate removed, Jim Alexander showered himself and walked down multiple flights of stairs to the cafe at Canberra's private hospital.
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Two days later, he was back in the comfort of his own Kambah home.
His surgeon credited the fast recovery to the National Capital Private Hospital's new $3.5 million da Vinci Xi Surgical System, which allows for more precise operations than key hole or open methods.
Mr Alexander was the first ACT patient to use the only da Vinci Xi robot in Canberra.
"It has been less than one week since the surgery and my recovery has been excellent," Mr Alexander said.
"I think it's great they've bought this marvellous equipment to Canberra."
The two-metre high machine consists of a console where the surgeon sits and a patient-side cart. The surgeon controls four interactive robot arms to perform complex and delicate operations through tiny cuts and a 3D HD vision system.
The hospital is using the da Vinci Xi robot for nephrectomy and prostatectomy surgery but will soon extend it to urology and gynaecology.
Dr Hodo Haxhimolla, urological surgeon at National Canberra Private Hospital, said the robotic system gave patients a shorter hospital stay, fewer complications, less need for pain medicine, minimal scarring and a faster recovery time than other types of surgery.
"Looking through 3D gives us 10 times magnification, which gives you a much better perception of the organs while also preserving the nerves, and provides us with precise stitching," Dr Haxhimolla said.
"I've already done seven of these operations since we started a week ago, including a partial removal of the kidney for a patient who had a tumour, with much better results than they otherwise would have had."
Dr Haxhimolla was in the first team to perform robotic prostatectomy in Australia 12 years ago and said he would build on his experience in Canberra.
"I have been travelling to other cities to do it until now so it is great that I can now do it for Canberra patients," he said.
National Capital Private Hospital general manager Elizabeth Porritt said there was a strong demand for the Canberra machine.
"There is already a waiting list," Ms Porritt said.
"We are committed to being a leader in this field."
The private hospital recently underwent an expansion which saw three new state-of-the-art operating theatres, an eight-bed intensive care unit, a 14-bed coronary care unit and 10 medical consulting suites.
