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Robots Approved For Cardiac Surgery

Posted by timothy on from the for-now-keep-a-doctor-on-hand dept.

An anonymous reader writes "CNN has an article up on a new robotic heart-surgery system. By making 4 relatively small incisions into the patients chest the da Vinci Surgical System, guided by real surgeons, uses its pencil sized "tools" to conduct several different heart procedures including closed-chest coronary bypass surgery. By operating on a patient with their chest closed, patient recovery times have reduced from weeks to just days. Despite the robotic surgery taking longer than traditional operations, this reduced recovery times makes the robotic surgery cost less overall than traditional open heart surgery. Fortunately, if anything goes wrong with the robot, the human surgeons can jump right in and pick up where the robot has stopped. Already the robot (in place in over 130 hospitals world wide) has been FDA approved for Mitral Valve repair surgery. More insightful info on the da Vinci System here." It's not the first such system, either.

7 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. That is awesome by kcornia · · Score: 1, Funny

    Until it's hacked by Chinese!!!

  2. Scary... by Ligur · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can imagine counting slowly backwards from 10 and just before I doze off hearing: "I'm sorry dave, I'm afraid I cannot do that."

    --
    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  3. incisions? by sczimme · · Score: 5, Funny

    By making 4 relatively small incisions into the patients chest
    ...
    Fortunately, if anything goes wrong with the robot, the human surgeons can jump right in

    I think they're going to need bigger incisions...

    --
    I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
  4. Hmm... by c0dedude · · Score: 3, Funny

    Robotic surgery really gives a new meaning to the blue screen of death eh? Grab the paddles, we gotta restart!

    --
    Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
  5. I would like to ask a favor by Loco3KGT · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of all manufacturers of these devices : Please don't try to divide by zero. I like my life.

    --
    Blessed be he who reads this post, Cursed be he who tells my boss.
  6. Doc by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 3, Funny

    I am still waiting for my own holographic doctor.

  7. On the next season of Junkyard Wars .... by nicodaemos · · Score: 5, Funny

    Today teams, you're going to have to build an artery clearing, laser cutting, heart pumping cardiac surgery robot!!!

    Each team will do three surgeries tomorrow in a head to head competition. The team who spills the least amount of blood and has the most living patients at the end, wins!!!

    Okay teams, you have 10 hours to complete your robots. Get ready, set ..... go !!!!