{"id":10695,"date":"2020-10-24T11:26:13","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T18:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10695"},"modified":"2020-10-24T11:27:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T18:27:06","slug":"the-cutting-edge-of-robotic-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10695","title":{"rendered":"The Cutting Edge of Robotic Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/b>Robots are no longer a futuristic\u00a0notion. In fact, they\u2019re becoming more\u00a0and more common in nearby operating\u00a0rooms. Robotic surgery<\/a> is an advanced\u00a0form of minimally invasive surgery that\u00a0makes use of computer-controlled robots\u00a0to do what humans can\u2019t\u2014and also to do\u00a0what surgeons can, only better.<\/p>\n

Think about how bulky human hands\u00a0are when compared to a robot\u2019s. \u201cThe\u00a0robotic instruments are articulated at the\u00a0end of the instrument where the working\u00a0end is, so the working end can move like a\u00a0hand would, as if it had a wrist,\u201d explained\u00a0Dr. Anne Rodriguez<\/a>, a gynecologic oncologist\u00a0and breast surgeon who heads up the\u00a0Cottage Health Robotic Surgery team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat gives you the ability to maneuver\u00a0much more than you would with a straight\u00a0instrument. And that ability can get you\u00a0into small spaces, can get you into difficult\u00a0spaces, and can allow you to do a lot finer\u00a0technique, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, the Cottage Robotic Surgery\u00a0Center performed 574 robotic surgery procedures\u00a0with the da Vinci XI manufactured\u00a0by Intuitive. The most common surgery\u00a0was hysterectomy, with 117 of them performed\u00a0last year, said Maria Zate, the hospital\u2019s\u00a0public relations manager, followed by\u00a0prostatectomy and hernia.<\/p>\n

Dr. William Gallivan<\/a> of the Orthopedic\u00a0Institute of Santa Barbara<\/a> is a big proponent\u00a0of the technology. \u201cIn 2005, I started using\u00a0computer navigation,\u201d said Gallivan. \u201cIt was\u00a0new technology back then, and I haven\u2019t\u00a0gone back.\u201d He\u2019s performed robotic surgeries\u00a0on knees since 2014, tallying 350 surgeries\u00a0as of August 2020, using the NAVIO\u00a0Surgical System and recently the MAKO\u00a0Robotic-Arm System.<\/p>\n

The precision advantages of robotics for\u00a0knee surgeries are critical. \u201cWhen we use\u00a0robotics, we can actually do a better preservation\u00a0of bone,\u201d he said. \u201cFor young people\u00a0who want to be active, they will be able to\u00a0have a very high level of activity. We\u2019ve got\u00a0this technology that allows better preservation\u00a0and maintenance of bone and other\u00a0soft tissues and is very effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez also pointed out the advantages\u00a0of the robots for surgeons themselves.\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re basically sitting at a console to control\u00a0the instrument rather than controlling\u00a0the instrument at the bedside,\u201d she said. \u201cSo\u00a0ergonomically, it\u2019s easier on the surgeon\u00a0and that gives advantages both short-term\u00a0and long-term in terms of your ability to\u00a0continue to do surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other advantages include shorter hospital\u00a0stays and faster recoveries, in part because\u00a0there is less need for narcotic pain medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 95 percent of my patients are\u00a0wide awake with a spinal anesthetic,\u201d said\u00a0Gallivan. \u201cIt\u2019s the safest way to do it, and\u00a0the patients have more fun being awake.\u201d\u00a0Patients can listen to music (\u201cunless it\u2019s\u00a0something bad,\u201d he laughed) and watch\u00a03D models and cartoon versions of the\u00a0operation.<\/p>\n

Virtually scar-less, single-site surgeries\u00a0can also be handled by robots, such as\u00a0single-incision hysterectomies. Rather than\u00a0making several incisions, the robotic process\u00a0makes just one incision through the\u00a0belly button, which decreases blood loss\u00a0and shortens recovery time.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobots have obviously been used for a\u00a0long time by the aviation, automotive, and\u00a0military [sectors], and then health care,\u201d\u00a0said Gallivan. \u201cBut the robotic technology\u00a0has never diminished or exited from an\u00a0industry that\u2019s adopted it. It\u2019s not going\u00a0anywhere. I\u2019m a firm believer that this\u00a0technology we\u2019re using is here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE BIRTHPLACE OF\u00a0MODERN SURGICAL ROBOTICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

UCSB graduate Dr. Yulun Wang<\/a> is considered one of the fathers of modern\u00a0surgical robotics. The founder of both InTouch Health and Computer Motion,\u00a0Wang developed AESOP, the first FDA-approved surgical robot (1990), and the\u00a0ZEUS Robotic Surgical System. ZEUS was used in the world\u2019s first tele-surgery\u00a0procedure, known as the Lindbergh Operation, in 2001. The da Vinci surgical\u00a0system now used by Cottage Health was developed by Intuitive Surgical following\u00a0its merger with Computer Motion in 2003.<\/p>\n

\"Tech<\/a>

Tech Talk Special Issue for Santa Barbara Independent, published October 1, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tech Talk Special Issue<\/a> for the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em><\/a>, originally published on October 1, 2020.<\/p>\n

To read the issue as it appeared in print, please click here, Tech Talk 768_10_01_20<\/a><\/p>\n

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