Bringing surgical expertise, technological know-how and a bold vision for the future of robotic surgery, renowned gynecologic oncology surgeon Emma Rossi, MD, is now serving patients at Duke Cancer Centers in Raleigh and Durham.
 
Rossi was an early adopter of robotic technology, realizing its potential during her surgical training just a few years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved robotic surgery for gynecologic cancers. “I saw that robotic surgery had the potential to change the way I practice surgical care for the better,” she says. “It allows me to perform more complicated procedures minimally invasively than I otherwise could have.”
 
Around 85% of the surgeries she performs are now done robotically, according to Rossi. And, importantly, she does a high volume of these procedures, which include radical hysterectomy, lymphadenectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and cytoreduction. “When you refer to Duke, you're optimizing the chance that your patient will be offered a minimally invasive surgical approach, which is associated with faster recoveries and fewer complications,” she says.

At Duke Health, Rossi has access to some of the most advanced technology available, including the next generation of robotic systems in research and development. She has the ability to share her knowledge training the next generation of surgeons, both at Duke University School of Medicine, and through a course she leads through the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists for fellows nationwide. Plus, she has the support and resources she needs to further her research on cancer mapping using image guidance, increasing the safety of robotic surgery for cervical cancer and more.
 
In every endeavor, improving patient outcomes is Rossi’s driving force. She has seen firsthand the value of robotic surgery, and believes it can make a difference in survival, particularly for cancer patients. “If you have a surgery that you can recover from faster because you have less insult to your body, then you’re going to feel well enough to tackle adjuvant therapies sooner. Faster surgical recovery can mean overcoming cancer sooner,” she says.
 
With two clinic locations, Rossi is accepting referrals from across the triangle. “My practice is the same in both locations,” she says. “But what makes the Raleigh clinic unique is that we're the only GYN-oncology practice in the Wake County area that delivers holistic care, with both surgery and chemotherapy for our patients. And we’re one of the few oncology practices that offers clinical trials for patients close to home, so they don’t have to travel.”