For some Vancouver Island cancer patients, a trip to the operating room is no longer followed by a lengthy hospital stay, and for others, surgery that once may not have been possible is now within reach. Those are some of the early impacts of a $21-million fundraising campaign that has brought a new generation of surgical and cancer technology to Victoria General Hospital (VGH) and Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJB). The Victoria Hospitals Foundation (VHF) announced Wednesday that it has reached the goal for the It’s Time for Surgical Evolution campaign, just one year after it launched, with more than 4,700 donors contributing to the second phase. Together, the first two phases of the have raised more than $38 million for surgical innovation in less than two years. VHF CEO Avery Brohman says the response reflects a community determined to see health care on Vancouver Island advance. “We are incredibly grateful,” Brohman said. “We feel the power and the momentum coming from this community who want to see our hospitals excel and advance and do better.” The latest campaign has helped expand robotic surgery at VGH, add specialized equipment for cancer care and bring robotic technology for complex neurosurgical procedures to the Island. There are now three robotic surgical systems at the two hospitals: two da Vinci systems and a Mazor X robot used in neurosurgery. Since the first da Vinci system began operating at RJH in February 2025, followed by two additional robotic platforms at VGH in March 2026, local surgical teams have performed more than 800 robotic procedures across seven specialties, according to the foundation. VHF now describes Victoria as Western Canada’s first Robotic Centre of Excellence, with procedures that previously were available mainly at larger centres increasingly being performed on Vancouver Island. For gynecologic oncologist Dr. Mona Mazgani, the change is already showing up in the operating room. A da Vinci robot arrived at VGH in March, and within its first few months Mazgani and her team used it in about 60 cancer operations. She says the technology can make surgery possible for patients who might otherwise have been considered poor candidates for an operation. “Many of our women that would otherwise either not be eligible for surgery, either because they have a very high weight or because a tumour is located in an area that is very hard to get to surgically, we were able to do it with this robot,” Mazgani said. The system provides surgeons with a magnified, three-dimensional view and allows highly precise movements in areas that can be difficult to reach. In some cases, that means replacing a large incision with several much smaller ones. “Some of these surgeries really need a cut from down here to up here, and now you can do it with four or five less-than-one-centimetre, very small incisions,” Mazgani said. For patients, the difference can be significant. Mazgani says some people who previously could have faced days or weeks in hospital are now ready to leave much sooner. “Usually within one or two days, they want to go,” she said. “They feel so good that they want to get back home.” Depending on the procedure, some robotic-surgery patients can now go home the same day, while others are discharged after a shorter stay. The technology is also changing how surgeons collaborate. The VGH robotic system has two consoles, allowing two surgeons to work together during an operation. That creates opportunities for more complicated procedures involving multiple specialties, including gynecology, general surgery and urology. Local teams have already reached several milestones, including B.C.’s first robotic-assisted emergency surgery and first robotic colectomy, as well as a collaborative robotic procedure involving the removal of multiple organs, according to VHF. But the campaign’s impact extends beyond the robots themselves. Phases I and II have funded more than 100 physician-prioritized surgical and oncology technologies for use at RJH and VGH. The equipment is being deployed throughout the hospitals’ 30 operating rooms, supporting procedures that were previously unavailable on Vancouver Island and helping teams improve surgical precision. The investments are also aimed at making better use of operating-room capacity, reducing cancellations and expanding opportunities for teaching and training. Mazgani says the combination of new technology, equipment and expertise is allowing teams to approach some difficult cases differently. “It’s not just about doing more surgeries,” Mazgani said. “It’s about being able to offer surgery to people who perhaps didn’t have that option before.” As the local robotics program grows, so does the opportunity for recruitment. “What it has done is it attracts more physicians from different places, so we can recruit people with robotic skills and with other skills,” Mazgani said. “And all of a sudden, you know, Victoria is really on the map. People want to be here.” VHF says five new surgeons have joined RJH and VGH as a direct result of the changes in the surgical environment. For a health-care system serving patients across Vancouver Island, recruitment could prove to be one of the campaign’s most important long-term effects. The first campaign raised more than $17 million and helped establish robotic surgery locally. Phase II was boosted by a $7.5-million unrestricted donation, the largest gift in VHF’s history. The unrestricted nature of the donation gave the foundation flexibility to broaden its plans as clinical priorities evolved. Brohman says the campaign shows what can happen when charity and clinical expertise work together. “Philanthropy is the catalyst for that,” she said. For Mazgani, however, the significance of the investment goes beyond the machines themselves. It is about patients receiving advanced treatment closer to home, recovering sooner and giving local teams the skills and experience to take on increasingly complex care. “We talked about surgical innovation, but really it’s been a surgical evolution,” she said. And she believes that evolution is only beginning. “I think it’s amazing for our future as well, the future of health care,” Mazgani said.
