ONEIDA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Oneida Healthcare has acquired Da Vinci Si surgical technology, which they say will reduce patient recovery time and leave patients with just four small incisions.

"The simplest way to describe it is - with this, you go home with puncture wounds from where the scopes go in...but that's much better than a large incision," says Jay Kohlbrenner, Vice President of Clinical Services.

The approximately $2 million investment gives surgeons enhanced 3D vision, superior visual clarity, and precision greater than the human hand, but Oneida Healthcare emphasizes that it does not replace the skills of the surgeon.

"It fine tunes their hands, making them even more proficient at getting into certain parts of the anatomy so they can remove the tumor or problem," says Kohlbrenner.

Oneida Healthcare says the Da Vinci system is the only one between Albany and Syracuse, and will be available to physicians and patients in Madison and Oneida counties, as well as the Utica-Rome area and entire Mohawk Valley region.

President and CEO of Oneida Healthcare Gene Morreale says the hospital will focus on using the technology for colorectal surgery, GYN surgery, urology and thoracic surgeries, and that it's been proven to reduce blood loss, patients' hospital stay, and surgery complications.

The hospital hopes the new technology will not only benefit their current surgeons, but also allow them to recruit new talent.

"Surgeons are training in residency on these devices and we know one of the questions they'll ask is 'do you have Da Vinci robotics?,'" says Kohlbrenner.

Oneida Healthcare says for many surgeries, the technology could reduce patient recovery time from multiple days to just one overnight.