Since arriving in late 2025 at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), a robot nicknamed Vinni is already making a difference in the lives of patients.
Vinni is KGH’s and Interior Health’s (IH) first surgical robot. Known as robotic-assisted surgery—or RAS for short—the technology allows surgeons to operate on patients with greater precision in tighter spaces, while reducing complications, pain and blood loss.
The robot has been helping doctors like urologist Dr. Matthew Ho perform complex surgeries.
“RAS allows us to do a wide range of surgeries in a less invasive way,” explains Dr. Ho. “For the patient this means less pain, less blood loss, and less suffering.”
Dr. Ho was excited to be the first doctor at KGH to perform a robotic-assisted surgery.
“It’s cool, it’s fun, and I enjoy it a lot. Everyone’s excited to be doing something new and better for patients,” says Dr. Ho. “This tool allows me and other surgeons at KGH to offer our absolute best to the people of Kelowna and the Interior.”
Lyle Archambault, who had prostate cancer, was the first patient at KGH to benefit from the technology—something he was quite excited about.
Traditionally, prostate surgery is done with an open incision. This can mean quite a bit of blood loss, pain, a 2–3-day hospital stay and a prolonged recovery. Complications can include incontinence.
“I was surprised how fast the healing went,” says Lyle. “The results have been incredibly good.” Lyle says he was up and walking with assistance within 10 hours of the surgery and discharged in less than 24 hours. Within four days, he said he could walk three or four blocks.
“I think that’s the power of robotics,” adds Dr. Ho. “I can do just as good surgery while minimizing the pain and suffering.”
Vinni is also being used for more complex urology, colorectal and thoracic surgeries at the hospital. Plans are underway to expand regional access to this technology.
“The people of Kelowna deserve this,” says Dr. Ho, who shares he came to work at KGH knowing a robot was on the way. “They can expect the same standard of care they might get in a city like Vancouver with shorter wait times.”
