Robot reduces trauma
Remote-controlled surgery on its way

BYLINE: Dick Stanley, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
DATE: September 9, 2004
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: Metro/State

In photographs of an actual operation, the robotic arms hovering over an anesthetized patient resemble those long used in Detroit to help assemble vehicles, but these end in thin extensions tipped by an endoscopic camera, tiny scalpels and other surgical instruments.

Nearby, a surgeon leans into a console, eying three-dimensional imagery of the patient's interior while manipulating thin cylinders with ring-like attachments that translate his movements into direct control of the instruments.
The robot is the $1 million da Vinci Surgical System, built by Intuitive Surgical Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif.
St. David's Medical Center will announce today that it is bringing it to Central Texas, joining 240 other medical facilities in the world, including some in Houston and San Antonio.

"We are proud to be the first in Central Texas to provide this new technology," St. David's Chief Executive Officer Cole Eslyn said. "It continues the advancement of minimally invasive surgery. The benefits to the patient are really very, very impressive."

Surgeons such as Austin urologist Randy Fagin are looking forward to using the system in their practices.
"Your fingers fit into the rings," he said. "As your fingers move and turn, the machine itself moves and turns. The movements of your fingers are interpreted into robotic movements, and they are scaled to allow greater precision."
Instead of traditional "open" surgery, requiring large incisions and accompanying blood loss, the da Vinci robot makes only several small incisions. Benefits to patients include less blood loss, fewer transfusions and less pain, risk of infection and scarring, and faster recovery and return to normal activities.

Benefits to surgeons, according to the manufacturer, are greater surgical precision, improved dexterity and enhanced 3-D visualization.

Surgeons at St. David's are expected to begin using the robot by the end of the month. It will be used only for surgeries of the heart, lungs, urinary tract, gynecology and general surgeries. It won't be used, for example, for orthopedics, plastic or neurosurgeries, Eslyn said.

It can be used for heart bypasses such as the quadruple bypass former President Clinton got, Fagin said, depending on a heart surgeon's experience with the robot.

"It's possible with this machine, absolutely," he said. "It is currently being used for Clinton-like surgeries elsewhere."
Eslyn said the system will help differentiate St. David's from its competitors in the increasingly competitive Central Texas medical care industry.

"I've played with it a bit, without a patient, of course," he said. "It's pretty amazing."

The information provided in this article should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for the diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. The Urology Team does not endorse or favor any specific product or company. Trade, proprietary, or company name appearing in this document are used only because they are considered necessary in the context of the information provided. If the product is not mentioned, this does not mean or imply that the product is unsatisfactory. Any links to other sites are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsements of those other sites.