1. Hong Nguyen Gina Moore Mario Contreras
Robotic Surgery
Hong Nguyen
Gina Moore
Mario Contreras

2. OPERATIONAL A technique performed during surgery by a surgeon
using a computer that controls very small instruments attached to a robot
Performed through smaller surgical cuts
can access hard-to-reach areas of body more easily
Can allow a surgeon to perform a less-invasive procedure
The surgeon can more easily see the area being operated on
in a much more comfortable position and can move in a more natural way
Robot reduces the surgeon's movements
some of the hand tremors and movements that might otherwise make the surgery less precise
Can take longer to perform, d/t amount of time needed to set up robot
expensive to use and may not be available in many hospitals

3. STRATEGIC Robot-assisted prostate surgery costs more
$1,500-$2,000 more per patient.
It is not clear whether its outcomes are better, worse or the same.
It is also not known whether robot-assisted prostate surgery gives better, worse or equivalent long-term cancer control than traditional methods
Either with a 4 inch incision or with smaller incisions
One large national study, which compared outcomes among Medicare patients, indicated that surgery with a robot might lead to fewer in-hospital complications
But that it might also lead to more impotence and incontinence
Study included conventional laparoscopy patients among the ones who had robot-assisted surgery, making it difficult to assess its conclusions

4. CULTURAL Marketing has moved into the breach
hospitals and surgeons advertise their services with claims that make critics raise their eyebrows
For example, surgeons in private practice at the New Jersey Center for Prostate Cancer and Urology advertise on their Web site that robot-assisted surgery provides:
“cancer cure equally as well as traditional prostate surgery”
“significantly improved urinary control”
Robot-assisted prostate surgery has grown at a nearly unprecedented rate

5. POLITICAL
With drugs, the Food and Drug Administration requires extensive tests to determine safety and efficacy.
But surgeons are free to innovate, and few would argue that surgery can or should be held to the same standards as drugs.
Still, a situation like robot-assisted surgery illustrates how patients may end up making what can be life-changing decisions based on little more than assertive marketing or the personal prejudices of their surgeon.

6. PROS and CONS
Pros
Cons
Because the surgical cuts are typically smaller than with traditional open surgery, robotic surgery may lead to:
Faster recovery
Less pain and bleeding
Less risk of infection
Shorter hospital stay
Smaller scars
Robots cost $1.39 million and $140,000 a year for the service contract
Ordinarily, MDs can feel how forcefully they are grabbing tissue, how well they are cutting, how their stitches are holding. With the robot, that is lost.
Robot is slow; typically takes 3.5 hours for a prostate operation, according to Intuitive, twice as long as traditional surgery.
Robotic surgery cannot be used for some complex procedures.
For example, it is not appropriate for certain types of heart surgery that require greater ability to move instruments in the patient's chest.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY