Summerville Medical Center celebrates 500th robotic spine milestone with spine surgeon

Summerville, S.C. — Summerville Medical Center is proud to celebrate a significant milestone in the hospital’s spine program with spine surgeon Sabino D’Agostino, MD, who performed his 500th minimally invasive robotic spine procedure this month. 

Dr. D’Agostino has played a critical role in championing the hospital’s growing spine program. Through collaborative efforts, the program offers state-of-the-art, minimally invasive, surgical options including both fusion and non-fusion surgeries. This includes cervical disk replacement, lumbar microdiscectomy, Kyphoplasty, laminectomy of the cervical and lumbar spine, as well as cervical and lumbar decompression and robotic fusion surgeries. 

“My goal every day is to change the lives of my patients,” commented Dr. D’Agostino. “Many spine surgeries require screws or other devices to help in healing. Alignment of the spine, discs and vertebrae is extremely important. Our minimally invasive robotic spine procedures result in a shorter amount of time on the operating room table, reduced blood loss, less muscle damage, and can result in faster recovery. I want to help my patients get back to their favorite hobbies and enjoying their active lives.” 

“It’s truly remarkable what Dr. D’Agostino and our surgical team have accomplished,” said Stephen Chandler, CEO of Summerville Medical Center. “Celebrating milestones like this are a way to recognize the many patients we’ve treated already and plan for the lives we still have the ability to touch and improve. We are proud to offer complex spine care for our community members to receive treatment close to home at Summerville Medical Center, recover and return home quickly to their families and active lives.” 

Dr. D’Agostino is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery. He performed the first robotic spine surgery in South Carolina. He received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Medicine and completed his residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. During his medical school training, he completed an international fellowship in Milan, Italy. Later, well into his medical practice, he again traveled to Torino, Italy, to help introduce the first robotic spine surgery to be done in that country.    

Summerville Medical Center launched the minimally invasive robotic surgery program in 2012 and currently operates 5 robotic surgery systems that provide more precise surgical procedures, less need for pain medication, and faster recovery times that get patients back to their families and normal daily activities. The hospital’s team of fellowship-trained, board-certified surgeons offer a variety of surgical procedures including spine, gynecology, orthopedic, pediatric, reflux, weight loss, breast, vascular and more. More than 6,750 minimally invasive robotic surgeries have been performed since starting the robotic surgery program in 2012. 

In fall 2023 Summerville Medical Center broke ground on a $66.8 million, 56-bed inpatient expansion that will provide the growing community across Dorchester and Berkeley Counties with greater access to critical care. Once completed, the inpatient project will increase Summerville Medical Center’s licensed bed count by 40 percent to 174 beds. This project marks another significant milestone for the hospital, which has invested over $200 million in the past decade to expand their facility, services and team so that families can receive excellent care close to home.