During the first procedure of a 7 am – 5:30 pm shift, Allison Hermann, CST, started having a gallbladder attack. She briefly spoke to Jason Kennard, MD, before going down to the IU Health Bloomington Emergency Department to be admitted.

Later that day, Kennard saw her back in the operating room as the patient instead of his first assistant.

“It was actually the team I was working with in the morning,” says Hermann. “It was very comforting because I work alongside them almost every day.”

She says it only made sense to have the surgery done robotically.

“She was able to go home the exact same day,” says Dr. Kennard. “There were only four small surgical sites.”

Hermann says, “Now when I have patients come back, I let them know, ‘I just had this done too…but before you know it, you’re going to be feeling better.'”

Watch the video above to learn more.