This is too Cool: Robotic Surgical Tool

[justint]

MSNBC

This type of thing could greatly decrease recovery time, complications such as infection, expense etc. etc.

 

[heartsurgeon]

This type of thing could greatly decrease recovery time, complications such as infection, expense etc. etc.

whaaaa? i don't think so.

the type of surgery they did - typical hospital stay 3 days (same as theirs)
complications - 0% (they had to reoperate on one patient! thats a heck of a complication)
the robot adds at least $1,000,000 to cost of surgery

so far, compared to the "standard approach" to this type of surgery: the recovery time is the same, complications are greater, expense is wildly increased!

this is about marketing and hype!

yes it's "cool", and it may be helpful someday, and yes research into its use should continue, but you gotta realize that LOTS of what goes on in medicine, and most unfortunately cardiac surgery is oriented towards hype and marketing, and the "claims" of a superior way to do things is usually based on trying to get the stock price of the company making the robot up, up, up.

i am actually in favor of robotics in cardiac surgery, but don't buy into all the marketing...