On August 3, 2022, AdventHealth Celebration OB/GYN Erica Stockwell, DO, performed the first vaginal-approach hysterectomy in Central Florida using the Anovo™ Surgical System, the first and only FDA-authorized surgical robot designed to enable the minimally invasive transvaginal approach for benign gynecological procedures. Authorized uses include hysterectomy, salpingectomy, oophorectomy, adnexectomy, and ovarian cyst removal.
By incorporating a wrist, elbow and shoulder joint to mimic a surgeon’s movements, Momentis Surgical’s Anovo™ enables a transvaginal approach, providing patients with a quicker return to normal activities compared to abdominal hysterectomy.
“Anovo™ is a hybrid surgical approach that combines the technologic benefits of laparoscopy, like visualization and advanced energy, with the ergonomics of robotics and the optimal patient outcomes of vaginal surgery,” explains Dr. Stockwell.
Among U.S. women of reproductive age, hysterectomy is the second most frequently performed surgical procedure, with approximately 600,000 hysterectomies performed each year. In 2017, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a statement that vaginal hysterectomy should be the approach of choice whenever feasible because evidence demonstrates that it is associated with better outcomes when compared with other approaches to hysterectomy. However, the less invasive vaginal approach has been used in only 16 percent of hysterectomies due to anatomical and technical limitations. These findings fueled the development of the Anovo™ system.
“We know vaginal hysterectomy provides the best patient outcomes, but poor visualization and access to the pelvis had inhibited its use,” shares Dr. Stockwell. “The Anovo™ system was specifically designed to overcome these barriers and make the vaginal approach more accessible. We believe this new technology will improve care for our patients who require surgery for benign gynecological conditions like abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids, endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, prolapse, pre-cancerous changes, and ovarian cysts. It will provide them with less pain and scarring, reduced infection rates, and a quicker recovery and return to their normal daily lives.”
AdventHealth has plans to be to be a primary site for the ongoing registry of clinical outcomes using the Anovo™ system with Dr. Stockwell serving as Primary Investigator.
If you would like to learn more about this procedure, click here.
Clinical Anovo Story
12 items. To interact with these items, press Control-Option-Shift-Right Arrow. These items are in a slider. To advance slider forward, press Shift-Command-Right Arrow. To advance slider backward, press Shift-Command-Left Arrow.
News
A Decade of Robotic Liver Resection: Study Highlights Perioperative and Survival Outcomes
A new study from AdventHealth examines a decade of experience using robotic liver resection to treat primary and metastatic hepatobiliary cancers.
News
AdventHealth Researcher Selected as NIH Rising Star for His Work on How Exercise Transforms Human Adipose Tissue
AdventHealth Translational Research Institute (TRI) researcher Dr. Cheehoon Ahn explores potential benefits of exercise within adipose (fat) tissue.
News
Improving Care of Patients with Down Syndrome: The Clinical Impact of an Integrated Lifespan Model
What happens when care for pediatric and adult patients with Down syndrome is connected in one place?
News
Living Donor Liver Transplant Program Expands Access for Pediatric and Complex Liver Disease Patients
AdventHealth has launched a Living Donor Liver Transplant program, expanding access to life-saving transplants for both pediatric and adult patients.
News
AdventHealth's Lymphatic Network of Excellence Built on Elevated Standards Across Care Teams
Adventhealth is the only center in the Southeast designated a Comprehensive Network of Excellence by the Lymphatic Education & Research Network.
News
AdventHealth Participating in INNOVATE Clinical Trial to Evaluate BrioVAD System for Heart Failure
AdventHealth is participating in the INNOVATE trial, a Phase 3, multi-center study comparing the investigational BrioVAD system to the HeartMate 3 LVAD.
News
AdventHealth Cancer Institute Advances the Use of CAR T-Cell Therapy for Multiple Myeloma
CAR-T therapies have emerged as new treatment options for certain types of cancer through a one-time infusion that can lead to long-lasting remission.
News
AdventHealth Graduate Medical Education Program Celebrates 50 Years
Growing from a family practice residency to 24 accredited programs, AdventHealth’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program celebrates 50 years.
News
New Clinical Trial Explores Digital Intervention for Apathy in Late-life Depression
Afflicting 30-50% of patients with late-life depression, apathy is a challenging psychiatric syndrome in older adulthood that can result in lack of motivation leading to poor self-care, physical...
News
AdventHealth Performs Central Florida’s First Liver Transplant for Unresectable Colorectal Liver Metastases
In June 2025, AdventHealth Abdominal Transplant Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist Ryan Day, MD, worked with a multidisciplinary team to perform Central Florida’s first liver transplant for unresectable...
News
AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute First in Florida to be Recognized as a GammaTile Center of Excellence
GammaTile is the first and only tile-based radiation therapy for the treatment of
operable brain tumors. The AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute began performing GammaTile procedures in 2021 and was...
News
An AdventHealth Collaboration Explores the Impact of Microgravity and Electrical Stimulation on Muscle Cell Health in Space
Using a muscle lab-on-chip model aboard the International Space Station (ISS), AdventHealth Translational Research Institute’s Dr. Paul Coen has been working with a multidisciplinary team from the...