Denver teen is first patient treated with new surgical robot at Rocky Mountain Children’s

DENVER (KDVR) — Sixteen-year-old Reven Alt was in terrible pain from gallstones for almost a year before he had surgery to remove his gallbladder.

Surgeons at HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s used a brand-new pediatric surgical robotic system called Senhance and Alt was patient number one.

Dr. Steven Rothenberg performed the surgery.

“We are the only dedicated children’s hospital that has this specific robot that can use the smaller instrumentation,” Rothenberg said. “It’s basically two to three times smaller in diameter than the other surgical robots that are used throughout the market,” he added.

He believes the technology will only improve.

“I think the robot is going to help surgeons prevent errors. The visualization is going to be better; the instruments are going to be more delicate,” Rothenberg said.

It was a great experience for the Alt family. Reven’s surgery took less than 45 minutes, and he was able to go home a few hours later.

“The change in him was almost instant,” said his mother, Abby.

Reven was even able to attend his homecoming dance a few days later.

“I think it’s super cool, especially being the first person. It’s a crazy experience,” he said.

Since Reven was patient number one, he got to name the robot. It’s now called The Rev, or RevBot.

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