The da Vinci surgical robot, a $1.4 million robot can perform heart surgeries, remove cancers, and do so with minimally invasive procedures. For example, in order to operate on prostate cancer, the da Vinci avoids cutting the abdomen, therefore causing less blood loss, faster recovery, and minimal scars. Though there are initial problems with its use, it seems reasonable that one day, medical care will all be robotized.
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The da Vinci has been billed as a breakthrough in the quest to make surgery less invasive. With its four remote-controlled arms and sophisticated camera, it enables surgeons to operate through small incisions with greater precision and visibility.
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Even the removal of the catheter was painless and the bladder control returned within 2 weeks.
I have a number of friends who have had the old style prostatectomy and most say that the recovery time was up to 6 months. Many said that even after 3 months they could not pick up a cup of coffee off a table without having the feeling that their stomach was falling out.
The di Vinci is going to be the way of future medicine. With medical costs what they are getting the patient out of the hospital asap is where is happening.
i saw a woman in the ICU who had gone in for a hysterectomy (if i remember correctly) using the da vinci. they also nicked her bowel, and her end result included weeks in the ICU, a colostomy, and an abdominoplasty.
as per one of the surgeons trying to put her back together, true mastery of the da vinci takes at least 900 hrs (per procedure mind you). most doctors start performing surgeries solo after a 2 hours workshop put on by the manufacturer and less than 100 hours of working with another surgeon with more experience.
i'm definitely not a luddite, but then again i am not quite ready or willing to bow down to robot overlords just yet...
It also seems that people use it for the sake of using it. It's a good marketing hook. There was a study not too long ago that showed that using DaVinci for prostate surgery was no better than conventional surgery (just more expensive).