First Robotic Complex Liver Surgery

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/22589.php
Article in Medical News Today
April 9th, 2005

This article discusses the first fully robotic complex liver surgery. The surgery utilized the da Vinci robotic surgery system, which is the most common robotic surgical system. The patient in this case was suffering from a large benign tumor about five inches in diameter. The surgeons made five different 1 cm long incisions in her stomach and inserted the robotic arms to complete the surgery. About 60% of her liver was removed, as well as the tumor. This surgery was very sucessful and the patient was allowed to go home 48 hours later.
The fact that such a complex procedure was done using robotic surgery is a huge milestone. This procedure saved the patient an open abdominal surgery, an eight-inch scar and a prolonged recovery. Also, robotic surgery’s other strong benefits include: less blood loss, faster recovery, less scarring and reduced post-operative pain. Robotic surgery has only recently started being used for more complex procedures, as before it was used for various minimally invasive procedures. The device used, the da Vinci robotic system, is a very versatile system. It can be used for heart, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and prostate robotic surgeries.
This article is interesting because it shows the evolution of robotic surgery into more complex procedures. Robotic surgery is starting to expand into many different areas of surgery, and is being shown to be sucessful in all the new arenas it covers. This article shows that robotic surgery in the field of liver surgery has great promise. Using robotic surgery for complex surgeries carries a great benefit because it allows very invasive surgeries to evolve into minimally invasive surgeries. Hopefully, there will be more sucessful and varied surgeries using robotic devices in the future.