Sanford’s Maria Bell, MD Reaches Robotic Surgery Milestone

Newswise — Maria Bell, MD, gynecologic oncologist at Sanford Gynecologic Oncology Clinic and Chief Medical Officer for Sanford Development and Research, recently completed her 1,000th robotic surgery at Sanford Health. Dr. Bell provides surgeries for gynecologic malignancies, performs gynecologic surgeries for patients with benign conditions and administers chemotherapy. With Dr. Bell’s internationally recognized expertise, Sanford Women’s is excelling in the world of robotic surgery. Nationally, the rate for patients who receive any open surgery is approximately 30-40 percent according to Solucient Data. This means the surgery is not performed with a robot (robotic surgery is also known as laparoscopic surgery). At Sanford Gynecologic Oncology Clinic, the open rate is only 5 percent, also based on Solucient Data. This is a huge differentiator for Sanford and for Dr. Bell as other helath care providers in the area currently operate at the national level.